District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges related to a March 6, 2022, incident in which an adult male was found shot to death in a Tulare home. Pennie Marie Henson, age 52, is charged with first-degree murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait and that she personally and intentionally discharged a…
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On Friday, March 4, 2022, in Tulare County Superior Court, TCDA Crimes against Children prosecutors secured a misdemeanor jury conviction for Seth Vasquez, age 24, for annoying or molesting a child. In two incidents from April 16, 2021, to April 22, 2021, at the Riverway Sports Park in Visalia, Vasquez was identified as having made…
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Five years to the day after his last hearing, a Porterville sex offender was again denied parole. On March 1, 2022, a California parole board issued a three-year denial for Peter Contreras, age 53. Contreras is currently serving life in prison for child molestation at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran.…
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Today via a remote hearing and over the objection of prosecutors, a California parole board recommended parole for Mitchell Line, age 45, who is serving life in prison for sexually assaulting two victims in the mid-1990’s. Line is currently incarcerated at the California Institution for Men in Chino. After midnight on October 24, 1996, Line…
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Yesterday in Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Marlon Darnell Edwards, age 48, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1994 shooting murder of a man during a drug deal. After a night of drinking on January 4, 1994, the victim, Mario Castaneda, and his friends decided to…
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On Monday, February 14, 2022, in Tulare County Superior Court, a jury convicted Alexander Shinn, age 28, of murdering his roommate in 2018. In the early morning of December 8, 2018, after several weeks of tension in their Farmersville residence, Shinn bludgeoned his 25-year-old roommate with a metal bar while he was asleep on the…
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Today in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court at the South County Justice Center in Porterville, a jury of six men and six women recommended a death sentence for Noel Herrera, age 32, for multiple murders committed from 2010 to 2017. Herrera, a known gang member with the moniker of “Guilty,” committed his…
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Today former Porterville City Council member Daniel Penaloza, age 28, was arraigned on a criminal indictment by a Tulare County Grand Jury for crimes against a minor. The Grand Jury was empaneled on February 7, 2022, and presented an indictment on February 9, 2022. The indictment includes four total felony counts: two counts of sex…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced attempted murder charges against Antonio Salas Cisneros, age 41, for the alleged shooting of his pregnant wife on the evening of February 3, 2022. Cisneros is charged with premeditated attempted murder, assault with a firearm, injuring a spouse, child abuse likely to cause great bodily injury or death, and…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced the filing of criminal charges against Bakersfield man Giovanni Abujalil, age 32, for the alleged stabbing murder of his 75-year-old father in the Porterville area on January 27, 2022. Abujalil is charged with first-degree murder and felony elder abuse resulting in death. Both charges are enhanced with special allegations…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges related to a January 20, 2022, mobile home fire in Tulare in which a 74-year-old woman was found deceased. Anthony Barra, age 25, is charged with first-degree murder with the special allegations of use of a deadly weapon, that the crime was committed during the commission of…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Hanford man Knute Mynderup, age 47, to 6 years in state prison for charges involving contacting a person he believed to be a minor for sexual offense, and meeting with a person he believed to be a minor for lewd purposes. In…
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On January 20, 2022, TCDA prosecutors secured a 7-year denial of parole for Salvador Castro, age 51. Castro is currently serving a life sentence at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga. Around 5:30 pm on January 31, 1995, Castro was involved in a rival gang shootout at the intersection of Ben Maddox and Houston in…
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On January 7, 2022, in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Gustavo Zamora, age 69, of Lindsay, to 25 years-to-life in prison for child molestation. Zamora will also be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. On October 1, 2021, Zamora pleaded no contest…
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Over the month of December 2021, criminal investigators from the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigations served seven felony arrest warrants for suspects wanted for allegedly committing welfare fraud in Tulare County. The following individuals were arrested and either booked into the Tulare County Pre-Trial Facility or cited and released: -Clarista Aldaco, 26, of Lindsay …
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges related to a residential burglary in Visalia on December 30, 2021. The defendants are alleged to have burglarized the victims’ home while they were out of town. Anthony Santua, 41, and Donald Franklin Jr., 35, are charged with first degree residential burglary and second degree burglary, both…
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The Office of the District Attorney is requesting further investigation regarding an early morning December 24, 2021, incident in downtown Visalia that resulted in the death of a 21-year-old victim. “We have not yet been provided with the necessary information to make a decision regarding possible criminal charges,” said Supervising Deputy District Attorney Jessica Weatherly.…
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On December 16, 2021, a jury found Harbhajan Mundi, 64, guilty of first-degree murder, mayhem, and assault with a firearm with the special allegations that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury or death. On December 22, 2021, the same jury determined that Mundi was sane during the commission of the…
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On December 16, 2021, two children, ages four and six, were returned to their father by the Bureau of Investigation’s Child Abduction Unit. Investigators traveled to Queens, New York, to locate the children and their mother, Chanel Pensotti. Pensotti violated custody orders by leaving the state with her children. Tulare County Superior Court Judge Tara…
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Today the court sentenced Jeremy Kechloian, age 47, to 68 years, 8 months-to-life in prison after prosecutors secured a guilty verdict in the 2018 murder of a man at the former Visalia Kmart store and the subsequent assault of law enforcement officers during his time in custody. On May 9, 2018, around 5:30 pm, Kechloian…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges related to an alleged theft of merchandise from a popular Visalia electronics store on December 14, 2021. Mikey Manning, 24, and Debanee Harrell, 34, both of Fresno, are alleged to have stolen several smart tablets, speakers, a doorbell camera, and other electronics from Best Buy in Visalia.…
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For the fifth 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 $175,000 grant will continue to fund a Vertical Prosecution team through September 2022, primarily for felony DUI with…
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Late in the afternoon of Friday, December 10, 2021, a jury found Cotis Smith, Jr., 33, guilty of felony assault with a firearm with the special allegation of use of a firearm, and felony shooting at an occupied vehicle. Prior to trial, Smith pleaded to felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. At approximately…
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Tulare County juries have found Visalia man Jeremy Kechloian, age 47, guilty of the 2018 murder of a man at the former Visalia Kmart store and the subsequent assault of law enforcement officers during his time in custody. On May 9, 2018, around 5:30 pm, Kechloian entered Kmart in Visalia with a knife visible in…
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