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District Attorney Awarded Office of Traffic Safety Grant to Prosecute DUI

For the third 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 $116,668 grant will continue to fund a Vertical Prosecution team through September 2020, primarily for felony DUI with…
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Visalia Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Child Molestation

Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Juliet Boccone sentenced Steven Wing, age 66, to 400 years-to-life in prison for child molestation.   On August 16, 2019, a jury found Wing guilty of four counts of sexual penetration of a child ten years old or younger and eight counts…
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DNA Hit Leads to Murder Plea, Life Sentence

Today in Department 19 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Antonio Reyes sentenced Raul Facio, age 35, to life in prison for the 2006 murder of 28-year-old Melissa Martin in Porterville. On August 9, 2019, Facio pleaded to first-degree murder. On February 4, 2006, Porterville Police Department officers were dispatched…
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Tulare Woman Sentenced to Prison, Sex Offender Registration for Crimes against Minors

Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Juliet Boccone sentenced Coral Lytle, age 42, to 4 years in state prison and lifetime sex offender registration for a series of crimes against minors which started in 2017. On October 1, 2019, Lytle pleaded no contest to four counts of unlawful…
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Multi-Agency “Operation Boo” Nets Seven Arrests

Last night TCDA Bureau of Investigations criminal investigators joined with California Parole agents, the Porterville Police Department, the Hanford Police Department, and Kings County Probation for “Operation Boo,” a longstanding Halloween night PC290 sex offender detail to ensure compliance with registrant’s terms of parole. Conducted in Tulare and Kings counties, a total of 36 searches…
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Pixley Man Convicted of DUI Murder

Late Friday afternoon on October 25, 2019, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Juliet Boccone presiding, a jury convicted Jesus Suazo, age 27, of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury, fleeing the scene of an accident, and misdemeanor driving on a suspended license for prior…
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Convicted Lindsay Murderer Sentenced to Life in Prison

Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Kathryn Montejano sentenced convicted murderer Joshua Stepp, age 30, to life in prison for the 2012 murder of 19-year-old Michael Avalos at a house in Lindsay. On June 18, 2019, a jury convicted Joshua Stepp, age 30, of second-degree murder with the…
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Teens Charged with Earlimart Murder

District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Vanessa Macias, age 19, and Jesus Fernandez, age 18, in the shooting death of a 16-year-old male on October 18, 2019, in Earlimart. Both Macias and Fernandez are charged with one count of murder. Fernandez is additionally charged with one count of assault with a firearm.…
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Visalia Man Sentenced to Prison for Violent Crimes

Today in Department 3 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Nathan Leedy sentenced Gage Burros, age 19, to 12 years, 4 months in state prison for a number of violent crimes committed in 2018 and 2019. On August 23, 2019, Burros pleaded no contest to two separate cases. In the first case,…
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Tulare Man Denied Parole for 1985 Murder, Sexual Assaults

On October 8, 2019, at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, a California parole board issued a three-year denial for Darrin Little, age 55, for murder and sexual assault. On the morning of May 2, 1985, first responders were dispatched to a structure fire at a residence on South Spruce St. in Tulare. When they arrived,…
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Porterville Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for DUI Murder

Today in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Michael Sheltzer sentenced Timothy McDarment, age 51, to life in prison for DUI murder that took the life of a one-year-old child and injured two adult women. On September 17, 2019, a jury found McDarment guilty of second-degree murder, gross…
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Visalia Man Charged with Murder Girlfriend

District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Anthony Martin, age 20, following the shooting death of his 21-year-old girlfriend on the morning of October 5, 2019, in Visalia. Martin is charged with first-degree murder with the special allegation of intentional use of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death, and possession of…
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Terra Bella Gang Members Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2016 Murder

On October 4, 2019, in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Michael Sheltzer sentenced both Isidro Gomez Reyes, age 25, and Alfred Gomez, age 22, to 82 years-to-life in prison for murder. On August 13, 2019, a jury convicted the men of first-degree murder and attempted murder with…
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TCDA Bureau of Investigations Child Abduction Unit Recovers Children in Washington State

On September 11, 2019, Criminal Investigators from the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigations Child Abduction Unit traveled to Kennewick, Washington, to recover two children taken by their mother, Yuridia Serrano Valdez, against a court order. The Investigators traveled with the children back to Tulare County and reunited them with their father. In June 2019, the…
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Porterville Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI, Fleeing the Scene

Today in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Michael Sheltzer sentenced Mohamed Mohamed, age 22, to 9 years in prison for DUI. On July 30, 2019, Mohamed pleaded no contest to all charges filed against him by the District Attorney: felony mayhem, driving under the influence, driving with…
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Exeter Man Who Buried His Wife Alive Stipulates to Parole Denial

On Wednesday, September 11, 2019, at Salinas Valley State Prison, the Office of the District Attorney, along with representatives of the victim’s family, attended a scheduled parole hearing for Cesar Navarro, age 42, for the 1998 murder of his wife. The Office of the District Attorney was prepared to argue for the maximum denial of…
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Parole Denied in 1994 Visalia Murder

On September 11, 2019, at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Corcoran, a California parole board denied the release of Jon Gregorich, age 45, for the 1994 murder of a Visalia man. Gregorich received a three-year denial. In the early morning of May 5, 1994, outside of the former Shagnasty’s bar in Visalia, Gregorich and…
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Porterville Man Convicted of DUI, Killing Baby

Late yesterday afternoon in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, a jury found Timothy McDarment, age 51, guilty of DUI murder that took the life of a one-year-old child and injured two adult women. McDarment was convicted of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, felony hit and run…
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Cheyenne Wyllie Sentenced to Life in Prison for DUI Murders

Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Juliet Boccone sentenced Cheyenne Wyllie, age 28, of Springville, to life in prison for a 2016 DUI crash that killed two and left another seriously injured.   On August 9, 2019, Wyllie pleaded no contest to two counts of second-degree murder against…
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Pixley Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Child Molestation

Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden sentenced Juan Nevarez, age 35, to 38 years-to-life in prison for child molestation. Nevarez will also be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. On April 4, 2019, Nevarez pleaded no contest to one…
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Charges Filed in DUI Death of Cyclist

District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Manuel Mesa, age 40, in the DUI death of a female cyclist that occurred on September 11, 2019, in Visalia. Mesa is charged with one count of murder, one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and one misdemeanor count of driving while privilege suspended with…
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Visalia Man Convicted of Murdering Girlfriend

Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Juliet Boccone presiding, a jury found Andres Ybarra, age 35, guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his 26-year-old girlfriend. On the morning of July 1, 2016, the victim was found by emergency personnel at the couple’s home in bed. Ybarra…
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Charges Filed in Visalia Toddler Death

District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges have been filed against William Stallworth, age 25, in the death of his two-year-old son that occurred on September 5, 2019. Stallworth is charged with one count of murder and one count of assault on a child causing death with the special allegation of willful harm or…
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Murder Charges Filed in Shooting Death of Dairyman

District Attorney Tim Ward has announced murder and gun charges against Jorge Rivera, age 26, in the death of a Tulare County dairyman on September 3, 2019. Rivera is charged with first-degree murder with the special allegations of personal use of a firearm (handgun), one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm,…
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Former High School Teacher Sentenced for Stalking Students

Today in Department 22 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Anthony Fultz sentenced Orlando Benitez, age 31, of Lindsay, to 4 years and 4 months in prison for stalking female students while employed as a teacher and coach at Lindsay High School. On June 18, 2019, Benitez pleaded no contest…
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