District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Makenzie Morrelli, age 29, and Kayla Williams, age 28, for an incident regarding two minor children that resulted in the issuance of an Amber Alert. The charges were filed on December 18, 2024. It is alleged that just after midnight on December 16, 2024, in the…
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A Tulare County criminal grand jury has returned a no bill finding in the November 2021 death of one-year-old girl in Visalia. On December 2, 2024, Tulare County District Attorney prosecutors began presenting evidence received from a Visalia Police Department investigation. After deliberation, the grand jury returned a no bill finding (no criminal charges)…
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Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Rafael “Ralph” Vasquez, age 51, for financial crimes pertaining to funds utilized for the Farmersville Police Department’s explorer program, and the Farmersville Police Officer’s Association, organizations of which he served as advisor and treasurer. The charges were filed on December 9, 2024. Vasquez is…
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Today in Department C of the Tulare County Superior Court, Juvenile Division, the court sentenced a 16-year-old male minor to juvenile custody for the 2023 shooting death of Orosi teacher Sergio Martin. The minor admitted to the murder with special allegations that that crime was committed during a burglary and that a firearm was used.…
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On December 4, 2024, in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced gang members Kyle Carranza, age 21, and Elias De La Hoz, age 21, to life in prison for the 2019 murder of a man in Visalia. On June 26, 2019, officers responded to reports of a shooting where the…
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For the eighth straight year, District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to announce the award of a California Office of Traffic Safety Grant to help prosecute cases of driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. The $243,213 grant will continue to fund a Vertical Prosecution team through September 2025, primarily for felony DUI with…
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District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to announce the promotions of three veteran prosecutors to upper-level management positions in the Office of the District Attorney. Jessica Weatherly is promoted to Chief Deputy District Attorney, with Noelle Niayesh and Adam Clare promoting to Assistant District Attorney. “These three prosecutors have shown what it takes not only…
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On November 14, 2024, in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Jerome Avilez, age 60, of Visalia to 150 years-to-life in prison for child molestation. On September 3, 2024, Avilez was found guilty on 9 felony counts of lewd act upon a child under the age of 14.…
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On November 12, 2024, TCDA prosecutors secured a significant guilty verdict against Sean Michael Pelton, age 52, of Sacramento, for a series of high-volume thefts of catalytic converters in Visalia. In three separate instances from March 2020 to September 2020, and an additional instance in July 2021, Pelton targeted utility trucks in the AT&T service…
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Today in Department 11 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, judge Michael Sheltzer presiding, the court sentenced former Healthcare Conglomerate Associates CEO Yorai “Benny” Benzeevi, age 62, for crimes related to public corruption. On February 9, 2024, Benzeevi pleaded no contest to six felony counts and two misdemeanor counts found in the complaint:…
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In yet another history making moment in Tulare County, Tulare County District Attorney law clerk Sophia Park, 17, has become the youngest person to pass the rigorous California bar exam, breaking her brother Peter’s record set last year. Park was 17 years, 8 months old when she passed the exam on November 8, 2024, with…
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On November 8, 2024, in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Nathaniel Lujano, age 23, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for two 2022 gang murders. In the early morning hours of August 19, 2022, Lujano approached a young man at a Tulare gas station and inquired…
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On November 5, 2024, via a virtual hearing, TCDA prosecutors secured a 3-year denial of parole for Cameron Byars, age 56, who is currently serving a life sentence for child molestation. This was his second such hearing. In April 2003, Byars pleaded no contest to the felony abuse of four male minors under the age…
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In a resounding victory for stricter accountability in the criminal justice system, California voters passed Proposition 36, also known as the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act, in last night’s pivotal election. This proposition makes significant changes to criminal punishments outlined in Proposition 47 (2014). “The passage of Proposition 36 is a significant…
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At a virtual hearing on October 29, 2024, over the objection of TCDA prosecutors, California parole commissioners found Ramiro Bautista, age 78, suitable for parole after serving over three decades of a life sentence in prison for the 1989 shooting death of a child in Dinuba. Bautista is currently incarcerated the Richard J. Donovan Correctional…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced special circumstance murder charges against Fabian Gamez, age 30, for the stabbing deaths of two adult Tulare residents during an early morning burglary on October 24, 2024. Gamez is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one felony count of first-degree residential burglary. The charges are enhanced with…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced the filing of criminal charges against Joshua Ryan Martino, age 40, for the October 22, 2024, vandalism and battery of a street vendor and others in Visalia. After reviewing police reports and other evidence submitted by the Visalia Police Department, prosecutors charged Martino with one count of felony vandalism…
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On Tuesday, October 22, 2024, in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Joshua Hernandez, age 34, for child molestation. At the conclusion of the multi-day trial, a jury found Hernandez guilty of one count of sodomy with a child ten years of age or…
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On Friday, October 11, 2024, in the Tulare County Board of Supervisors chambers in Visalia, Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward had the honor of swearing-in longtime TCDA employee Louis Acosta as a Deputy District Attorney. Born in Mexico, Louis was encouraged by his primary school counselor to consider law as a possible career. Coupled…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Patrick Fuller, age 41, for child molestation, possession of child pornography, and using minors for sex acts. At trial, a jury found Fuller guilty of three felony counts of child molestation, one felony count of possession…
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On September 26, 2024, via a virtual hearing, TCDA prosecutors secured a 7-year denial of parole for William Vera, age 60, for the 1997 stabbing murder of a man in the Porterville area. Vera is currently serving a life sentence at Kern Valley State Prison. Around 5:30 pm on March 2, 1997, the victims, two…
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Yesterday in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced McFarland man Christopher Gonzalez, age 31, to life in prison for the 2019 shooting murder of a man in Tulare. On August 24, 2019, at approximately 11:40 pm, Tulare Police Department officers responded to the Prosperity Sports Complex…
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Today in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, TCDA sex crimes prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against James Van Norton, age 45, for child molestation. Van Norton was convicted by a jury of 3 felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and 13 felony counts of lewd act upon a…
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Acting on a tip to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, law enforcement members of the Tulare County Human Trafficking Task Force discovered and criminally charged a prostitution operation in the south county. “A good Samaritan, armed with the knowledge of how human trafficking can work and the resources available to him to report it, made…
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Yesterday at a virtual hearing, TCDA prosecutors secured a three-year denial of parole for Theresa Ann Dorchester, age 39, in the 2003 murder of a family member. Dorchester is currently serving a life sentence at the Central California Women’s Facility. In the late evening of June 4, 2003, in Porterville, Dorchester went to the residence…
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