Visalia Gang Member Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder
Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Judge Kathryn Montejano sentenced Apfu See, age 28, to 124 years-to-life in prison. On March 4, 2019, in a court trial, Judge Montejano found See guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and shooting at an occupied vehicle. Each count is enhanced with the special allegation that a firearm was used. See was also convicted of arson of a vehicle. See possesses a prior strike for assault with a firearm in 2008.
Just after midnight on October 17, 2016, Visalia Police Department officers responded to the Flyer’s gas station on Mineral King Avenue and Ben Maddox regarding a shooting. Two male victims were discovered in a car; one was deceased from a gunshot wound to the head and the other was shot in the knee. Video surveillance showed the deceased victim walking out of the store followed by another man, later identified as See. When the victim got in the car, See produced a handgun from his waist and began shooting into the car. See jumped into a white van driven by co-defendant Edgar Cardenas, age 20, and fled the scene at a high rate of speed. A short time later, the California Highway Patrol and Tulare County Fire responded to Road 112 in Visalia and found the van fully engulfed in flames.
Through investigation, detectives identified See and Cardenas. See was arrested at a Hanford restaurant on October 21, 2016. Immediately after the crime, Cardenas fled to Tijuana, Mexico, but returned a short time later at the behest of law enforcement. He pleaded no contest on June 15, 2017, to arson with the special allegation of street terrorism and accessory after the fact with the special allegation of being armed with a firearm. He was sentenced to 8 years and 8 months in prison.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Mitch Niayesh of the Major Crimes Division and investigated by the Visalia Police Department.
Media inquiries can be directed to the Office of the District Attorney, County of Tulare Assistant District Attorney Robert Dempsie (559) 636-5494