The 35-year-old Chowchilla resident went around town Wednesday morning and purchased every copy he could in an attempt to suppress news of his arrest for alleged methamphetamine possession.
"I have a whole garage full of newspapers," he said.
Pacheco, owner of A-Call carpet cleaning service, estimated he spent hundreds of dollars buying up 500 to 600 copies of The Chowchilla News from the newspaper's office, gas stations, convenience stores and coin-operated news racks. As of Wednesday afternoon, the newspaper's circulation department reported that there were no copies of the paper for sale anywhere in the city.
Seven hundred copies of The Chowchilla News are printed each week for single-copy distribution.
Chowchilla News managers said 500 additional copies were printed Wednesday night and will be available this morning at the newspaper's office at 340 W. Robertson Blvd.
The weekly paper costs 50 cents per copy.
Pacheco was arrested by the Madera Narcotic Enforcement Team on Feb. 17 at his home on Emerald Street in Chowchilla.
He has denied the allegations, saying the meth belonged to a relative's friend, Denise Stinson, 48, who was in his house that day to fix his computer. Stinson also was arrested.
"It's an embarrassment to my family," Pacheco said. "It's an embarrassment to me."
He posted $5,000 for bail the same day and is scheduled to appear in court March 21 to answer to the charges.
In the meantime, Pacheco said, he'll use the several hundred copies he snapped up to clean windows and to toilet-train his new shih tzu puppy.
The paper goes to press on Tuesday nights and is distributed by 6 a.m. on Wednesdays, said Vince Chavez, the newspaper's district circulation manager.
Despite Pacheco's efforts, the paper still made its way to about 550 subscribers, as no thefts of home-delivered copies have been reported, Chavez said.
Chowchilla residents noticed a lack of papers in the vending boxes.
"We've had numerous people come into the office and ask for copies," said Hank Vander Veen, publisher of the Merced Sun-Star, who also oversees The Chowchilla News. "We need to provide the newspaper to the people who want it."
Both newspapers are owned by The McClatchy Co.
Besides the front-page story about Pacheco's arrest, Wednesday's paper also contained an insert celebrating 100 years of Rotary service and a special section on Future Farmers of America from Chowchilla and Le Grand.
As of Wednesday evening, it was unknown whether copies were stolen from news racks. Newspaper officials hadn't been able to determine if Pacheco paid for all the copies he got from newsracks. An audit is under way.
Patty Mandrell, editor of The Chowchilla News, said it is common practice for the paper to put news of drug busts on the front page.
"It's standard procedure for our paper," said Mandrell, who also reported the story. "I don't know him from Adam ... we didn't cover him any differently than we would have covered anyone else."
In addition, the arrests were unusual because they occurred in what is considered an upscale gated community near a popular golf course, Mandrell said.
"(Pacheco) wanted me to print a retraction and I told him I can't," Mandrell said. "But I will follow (the story) through the court processes."
Business Reporter Patricia Jiayi Ho can be reached at 385-2472 or pho@mercedsun-star.com.
