District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to introduce Tor, TCDA’s first electronic detection K9. Tor was welcomed at today’s Board of Supervisors meeting in Visalia. Tor, a two-year-old black labrador retriever, is an inaugural graduate of the United States Secret Service (USSS) National Computer Forensic Institute (NCFI) program for electronic detection K9’s. The TCDA Bureau…
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On Friday, February 7, 2025, in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Orosi man Raul Alberto Vasquez, age 20, for a series of shootings in the Cutler Orosi area in the summer of 2023. Around 10 pm on June 27, 2023, a group of neighbors and…
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Today in Department 22 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Lacey Gonzalez, age 38, of Visalia, to 5 years in prison for a 2022 high-speed chase in Tulare that injured a police officer. On March 5, 2022, Tulare Police Department officers observed a stolen Ford Flex vehicle being…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Joshua Hernandez, age 35, to 145 years-to-life in prison for child molestation. At the conclusion of the multi-day trial on October 22, 2024, a jury found Hernandez guilty of one count of sodomy with a child ten years of age…
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On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Frederick Guerrero, age 79, to 26 years in state prison. Guerrero pleaded no contest on December 30, 2024, to ten counts of lewd act upon a child under the age of fourteen. Guerrero also admitted the…
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On January 16, 2025, in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against James Edward Jackson, age 70, for unleashing pepper spray on employees and customers at a Visalia Starbucks. Around 11 am on July 12, 2024, an agitated Jackson entered a Starbucks store on Mooney…
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On January 16, 2025, in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Sean Michael Pelton, age 53, of Sacramento, to 15 years in custody and restitution for a series of high-volume thefts of catalytic converters in Visalia. Pelton was convicted of the thefts in November 2024. “Let this sentence serve as…
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Tulare County prosecutors have filed the first felony cases related to Proposition 36, a 2024 ballot measure resoundingly passed by California voters to address theft and drug crimes. “The message is clear: Californians demand accountability for repeat offenders. The crimes addressed by Proposition 36 greatly affect the quality of life for those who live and…
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On December 27, 2024, in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Patrick Fuller, age 42, to life in prison for child molestation. At trial in October 2024, a jury found Fuller guilty of three felony counts of child molestation, one felony count of possession of child pornography, and…
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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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