Yesterday afternoon in Department 19 at the South County Justice Center, a Tulare County jury returned guilty verdicts against Charles Higgins, age 45, for rape and child molestation. The jury found Higgins guilty of forcible rape of a child victim age 14 years, attempted sodomy by use of force, and three counts of lewd act…
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On Thursday, April 1, 2021, Tulare County prosecutors secured a 5-year parole denial for Charles Hall, age 66, dubbed the “Oildale Rapist” for a series of violent sex crimes committed in 1981 in Kern County. The crimes and prosecution received significant media and community attention at the time. Between May 29, 1981, and August 22,…
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On late Friday afternoon, April 2, 2021, at the South County Justice Center in Porterville, a Tulare County jury convicted Dale Watson, age 55, of the murder of 18-year-old Dynasty Alexander. In the morning of March 3, 2019, Watson picked up the victim outside a Tulare apartment complex “to go to the store.” Security footage…
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On March 24, 2021, a California parole board granted parole for Jon Gregorich, age 46, who was convicted of murdering a young man outside of a Visalia bar. In the early morning of May 5, 1994, outside of the former Shagnasty’s bar in Visalia, Gregorich and two other men, Leo Sisco and Rocky Rodrigues, beat…
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Today in Department 3 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Jason Haley, 40, was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to criminal charges related to the sexual abuse of a single female victim. The crimes are alleged to have occurred between 2008 and 2010 during Haley’s employment as a local high school band coach. …
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On February 25, 2021, at the South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Eddie Lopez, age 25, to life in prison for violent crimes committed against family members. On January 31, 2020, Lopez was convicted of felony attempted murder, kidnapping, corporal injury of a spouse, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, false imprisonment, carjacking,…
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Today in Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Porterville man Adrian Ortiz, age 31, was sentenced to death for the 2009 killing of a 23-year-old husband and father in his own home. Around 10:30 pm on April 21, 2009, in the city of Porterville, Ortiz and his girlfriend were arguing while driving in a car.…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges have been filed in the February 19, 2021, high-speed chase that resulted in a California Highway Patrol officer being shot. Marvin Chang, age 32 of Los Angeles County, is charged with eight counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, two counts of assault with a semi-automatic…
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On Wednesday, February 23, 2020, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Leland Wood, age 48, to 8 years in state prison for a crime that occurred in December of 2019. On November 4, 2020, a jury convicted Wood of inflicting injury upon an intimate partner, and personally inflicting great…
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Today at the South County Justice Center, the Tulare County Superior Court sentenced Joshua Isgrigg, age 33, to 5 years in state prison after pleading no contest to the following: one count of making a destructive device without a permit / possession of materials to make explosives, one count of elder abuse under circumstances likely…
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District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to announce the promotion of Candice Moore to the position of Supervising Deputy District Attorney. Moore is a Visalia native and a graduate of Redwood High School. She began her TCDA career in 2008 as an intern and later as a law clerk from 2010 to 2013, and became…
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On Friday, January 29, 2021, in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Victor Hugo Becerra, age 38, was sentenced to 228 years-to-life in prison for child molestation. On October 8, 2020, a Tulare County jury found Becerra guilty of three counts of oral copulation with a minor under the…
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On January 15, 2021, the Office of the District Attorney was notified that Governor Gavin Newsom has refused to stop the release of convicted murderer Gerardo Zavala, 48. In 2001, Zavala and a group of men lured a 17-year-old African-American minor to a Delano residence where they beat, electrocuted, sexually assaulted, and eventually shot him…
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Today the Tulare County Superior Court sentenced Larry Robinson, age 53, to 12 years, 4 months in prison for crimes occurring in May 2020. On October 23, 2020, a jury convicted Robinson of three felony counts of making criminal threats, two misdemeanor counts of violating a domestic violence restraining order, delaying a police officer’s lawful…
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Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court in Visalia, Tyrone Williams, age 46, a transient in the Visalia area, was sentenced to 480 years-to-life in prison for rape and child molestation against three separate female victims, two of which were under the age of 14. On September 24, 2020, Williams was convicted…
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District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to announce the promotion of two Tulare County prosecutors to the position of Supervising Deputy District Attorney. Mitch Niayesh began his career as a TCDA prosecutor in 2003. During his tenure, he has prosecuted cases as part of the general misdemeanor and felony teams, white collar crime, auto theft,…
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Each year in April as part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, our office joins with community families at a solemn ceremony to celebrate the lives of loved ones taken by crime. We honor these lives with a memorial quilt. In a year like no other, we waited patiently for the right time to join…
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Yesterday evening the Tulare County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation took Healthcare Conglomerate Associates (HCCA) CEO Dr. Yorai “Benny” Benzeevi into custody at Los Angeles International Airport. The Office of the District Attorney coordinated with Benzeevi’s local counsel and federal officials at the American Embassy in Manila, Philippines, for his self-deportation and return to the…
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Half of the inmates released from custody earlier this year have re-offended according to research conducted by staff of the Office of the District Attorney. In April and July of this year, TCDA prosecutors opposed hundreds of motions requesting inmates housed in Tulare County jail facilities be released due to possible COVID dangers. As a…
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On November 4, 2020, the Tulare County Superior Court sentenced Robert Duran, age 39, to 56 years-to-life in prison for conspiracy to commit murder. On December 18, 2018, a jury convicted Duran of conspiracy to commit murder with the special allegation that the crime was for the benefit of a criminal street gang and that…
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For the fourth 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 $168,800 grant will continue to fund a Vertical Prosecution team through September 2021, primarily for felony DUI with…
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On November 5, 2020, the Tulare County Superior Court sentenced Fresno man Jonathan Soto, age 34, to 23 years, 4 months in prison for a 2019 standoff with police in which he threatened to kill his girlfriend. Around 5 pm on April 8, 2019, Visalia Police Department officers responded to a residence on E. Hillcrest…
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Yesterday a Tulare County jury voted for a death sentence for Porterville man Adrian Ortiz, age 31, in the 2009 murder of a 23-year-old father and husband in his own home. Around 10:30 pm on April 21, 2009, in the city of Porterville, Ortiz and his girlfriend were arguing while driving in a car. Enraged,…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges have been filed against Alec Denney, age 25, for sex offenses against a minor. Denney is charged with three counts of oral copulation of a person under 16, three counts of oral copulation of a person under 18, two counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object…
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On Friday, October 23, 2020, in Department 14 of the Tulare County Superior Court, a jury convicted Larry Robinson, age 53, of three felony counts of making criminal threats, two misdemeanor counts of violating a domestic violence restraining order, delaying a police officer’s lawful investigation, and possessing drug paraphernalia. On the night of May 8,…
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