Man remains in jail on $150,000 bond

A Madera man who was drinking and allegedly firing a gun at a residence earlier this month in the 19000 block of Road 28 1/2 is still in jail after ending up being being arrested on multiple felony charges, according to the Madera County Sheriff’s Office.

Samuel Edward Balbas, 40, was arrested on charges of assault with a firearm, kidnapping, attempted car jacking, and false imprisonment with violence.

The incident began with a call of a single shot fired near the residence from a field about 1:45 a.m. being reported to the Sheriff’s Department, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Kayla Serratto.

The suspect (Balbas) had been asked to leave the residence and took a gun, and the shot was heard shortly thereafter, according to Serratto.

“Deputies were unable to locate anyone at that time,” Serratto said. “It was passed over to morning briefing at 6 a.m. At about 8:45 a.m. our dispatch gets a call about a man with a gun in the area of Road 28 1/2 and Avenue 21, within the same vicinity. Deputies responded to the two separate locations.” she said.

According to reports a field worker out watering trees had found two rifles and was in the process of taking them back to the farm residence when he was approached by a male subject (Balbas) stating the guns were his, and demanded that the farm worker take him back to the residence or he would take the ATV he was riding.

Balbas was found sleeping in a vehicle near the residence on the property and was interviewed and detained by deputies on Sept. 2 without incident. Another firearm was located inside his vehicle. No injuries were reported. He remains in Madera County jail on $150,000 bond.