He did submit every kind of narcotics to evidence following each bust. That year, Mara filed for bankruptcy and said he was drinking heavily. And we were part of the Royal Rangers andwe did that on Tuesday nights at our local church. The relationship between the brothers and Coach White is endearing. However, similar to the film, Jim White had never been a runner himself and used the bike to follow the team during their workouts. The Diaz brothers represent 3 of the 7 runners from the McFarland Cross Country team of 1987. These were the guys running in the California heat and winning state titles. The best result we found for your search is Damacio Diaz age 50s in Bakersfield, CA. As he walked a Hollywood red carpet in February and talked to Action News anchor Graciela Moreno about McFarland USA, little did Diaz know his life was ready to unravel. DAMACIO DIAZ : And if I can add to that. Members of McFarland's Diaz family reflect interview. Then they can do whatever they want. FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The charges against Damacio Diaz have people in his hometown in disbelief. Those are the two extremes and those are the two options that are there for our community. DAVID DIAZ : Not at all. Then to keep him on the narrow road or that straight road is tough. Right now our community is excited obviously with the movie and rightfully so. to know what it feels like to be This one looks awesome, can't wait to see it. That streak ended while the movie was in production, after the small school was elevated to Division I status, a byproduct of their success. McFarland, USA: Directed by Niki Caro. Diaz and his brother Danny were on the championship team; a third brother, David, had graduated by then but was included in the movie version. Posted on Published: February 18, 2015- Last updated: August 7, 2022. DIAZEugenia Vasquez Diaz loving wife, mother, grandmother passed away on August 1, 2012 at the age of 94. Damacio Diaz one of the three Diaz brothers depicted in the 2015 Disney film about the victorious Central Valley team admitted to lying on his tax returns and accepting bribes from an . Federal prosecutors in court sentencing documents said Mara had two patrol officers stop a vehicle the detectives knew was carrying 5 pounds of methamphetamine. View Others. [CHUCKLES]. And we were running number one all year long. As a documentary series that delves deep into the alleged corruption, cover-ups, and crimes within the Bakersfield Police Department over the years, Hulus Killing County is unlike any other. In a tweet promoting the documentary, the star mentioned the high homicide and crime rates in Bakersfield, calling the series a "thriller set in Kevin McCarthy's district," in reference to House Speaker McCarthy, whose congressional district includes parts of Bakersfield. Their city logo and motto have both been refreshed to express the new outlook of their community. Juanita Diaz. [CHUCKLES] Same thing happened back in the day when we were kids. Second, he expressed sympathy regarding the educational quandary in which she finds herself. It was back in 1987 when Damacio Diaz inadvertently became a local celebrity of sorts owing to the way he built McFarland High Schools winning cross-country dynasty alongside his two brothers. Damacio Diaz was a Bakersfield police detective who was sentenced to five years in prison in October 2016 for stealing drugs to put back onto the street. (I am in the red in the back betweenDamacio and Danny). Thomas Valles went on to become a prison guard (LA Times). Primary filming took place in McFarland, California in 2013. So that was my experience for the first time at state having the pressure. He will then be subject to three years of supervised release. That was something that we did since we were third, fourth, fifth graders and by the time we got to college and were now training and, and running and living our lives with Mr. White some of us traveled out of the state, out of the country with Mr. White it became something that was gonna help us get out of our environment, and it did. We were about seven or eight years old when all that began. Ray was arrested in February 2020 and in April 2022, following a four-week trial, he was convicted on several counts. DAMACIO DIAZ : They said youre fat. Girl, 13, Went Missing Last Week, and Suspect Is Arrested on . And, uh, low and behold, Mr. White, during Thanksgiving break, uh, when we have no school, he had an emergency. var _ndnq = _ndnq || []; _ndnq.push([embed]); Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Map: Track this weekends rain in the Bay Area, McFarland USA runner gets prison for corruption as police detective. I have seven kids myself and all of us have a lot of kids. Lisa Green is sending letters to defendants in 64 potentially tainted criminal convictions after her office examined scores of convictions involving the work of the disgraced pair. It taught you how to accept losing or winning. They talk about being Diaz, a former Bakersfield police detective, is interviewed on camera in Killing County. PrepCalTrack.com conducted this Jim White Former narcotics detective Damacio Diaz has accepted a plea deal in connection with federal charges that could send him to prison for life. [CHUCKLES] And about two years ago, Mr. White, you help me pull? and preaching in the Church of Christ. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. Even some of us, after graduating college, like Danny, the day after he graduated from the university with the diploma, he was in the fields working, because that was, in our family, what was expecteduntil he got hired and got his job. And believe it or not, before he was a coach, hes a scientist. Additionally, Coach White would be there for counseling and fulfilling needs beyond what their parents could afford. In 2018, another man, Noel Carter, from Bakersfield, pleaded guilty to conspiring with Diaz and Mara to distribute drugs, according to federal prosecutors. Talbert said that we concluded no officers were complicit in joining Diaz and Mara, and that no further prosecutions were planned at this time. DAVID DIAZ : Yeah, so just to let you know: I think Hollywood did a, a very good job of depicting and not making it look too guilty as regarding CPS. But Mr. White was our second father. Go see it with your family! Still, Williamson said, the corrupt detectives had eroded trust with the community. Mr. Diaz, their dad Paul, he pushed education real hard, too. Gabriel Diaz, Damacio Diaz, David Diaz, Diego Diaz, and father and mother Paul and Juanita Diaz. [CHUCKLES] And, and we didnt train and we got fifth that year. The sentence received Monday was more lenient than prosecutors had urged for Damacio Diaz, a 17-year veteran of the Bakersfield Police Department. DANNY DIAZ : Once you give them your story, obviously you sign with them. [LAUGHS] Theymade me, uh . Known as @lacrimes on Twitter, during almost 30 years at The Times he also has been part of the breaking news staff that won Pulitzers in 1998, 2004 and 2016. We are no longer theHeartbeat of Agriculture. children ran for Jim White and all seven How often do you guys still train together with the new students? Welcome to Killing County. Mr. White was there as a person that we can rely on. Director Niki Caro chose to omit Luis Partida, who in the movie is replaced with David Diaz. Assistant U.S. Atty Brian Delaney said Magallanes was arrested in a separate case and told officials about Diaz. Carter would then could sell those narcotics for profit. I was just running to, to displace other runners and add them more points. That the judge would even mention such a possibility underscored the unusual nature of the hearing. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) Damacio Diaz found himself on the other side of the law when he was convicted and sentenced for his role in selling drugs stolen from a Bakersfield Police Department evidence room. The Feds arrested him at the. Kevin Costner (Coach Jim White) and Diana Maria Riva (Seora Diaz) in McFarland, USA. Disneys McFarland, USA, is helping to put the Diazs hometown on the map across the globe. Disney turned it into a. These guys are amazing and it was a pleasure meeting them and listening to them. it was in various stages, because this was about a 15-year process for us, my wife and I . Write by: Now that he's cooperating with authorities, he has allegedly implicated others in the department, including his former partner . JIM WHITE : Ive done it quite often. Newsweek has everything you need to know about what happened to Bakersfield cop Damacio Diaz and why he is featured on Killing County. David Diaz is behind Victor wearing a white t-shirt and McFarland hat. Interview with Big Hero 6 Directors Don Hall and Chris Williams, Behind the scenes of Big Hero 6 Bonus Content with FEAST Director Patrick Osborne. As stated above, the real Jim White started teaching in the McFarland School District straight out of college in 1964. - An ex-detective who was on the championship 1987 track team depicted in the movie "McFarland USA" has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to bribery and drug charges. A full house of over three hundred gave a rousing standing ovation to Jim and his wife, Cheryl. Those suckers are, are steep. However, it happened a little differently than in the movie. Greens office reviewed 87 cases of the detectives involving 123 defendants before deciding to send the letters. Former McFarland cross-country coach Jim White and his wife, Cheryl, leave the U.S. District Court in Fresno Monday after his one-time runner, former BPD detective Damacio Diaz, was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison. Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner) is the new Soon Diaz and Mara were getting into other illegal activities, authorities said. And it didnt. After his father left, Leopoldo and his mother decided to pack . Along with fellow BPD Detective Patrick Mara, 40, the two were sentenced to five years in federal prison. Yes. They appeared happy to be with us, and they enjoyed sharing their behind the scenes stories about the . Also, take a closer look at the Diaz family, who had seven children run for McFarland. And he told me I want them to get their education, so I will go back and get my education. Diaz initially became well-known after the release of 2015 Disney movie, McFarland USA, starring Kevin Costner.. Former Bakersfield police detective Damacio Diaz was sentenced Monday in federal court to five years in prison.He pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges.