Yesterday in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden sentenced Robert Lee Stephens, age 48, of Visalia, to 36 years-to-life in prison for a third strike offense. On September 12, 2018, Stephens was convicted of one count of assault with a deadly weapon (knife), a strike offense. Stephens possesses…
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This afternoon in the Tulare County Board of Supervisors Chambers in Visalia, District Attorney Tim Ward was sworn in to his second four-year term. The oath of office was administered by the Honorable Judge Kerri Lopez of the Tulare County Superior Court. In addition to his swearing in, Ward administered the oath of office to…
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Yesterday in Department 22 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Walter Gorelick presiding, a jury convicted Steven Elms, age 44, of felony driving under the influence of alcohol and felony driving with a BAC of .08% or higher. The special allegations that his BAC was above .15% were also found…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Rosa Baca, age 51, for an incident on December 17, 2018, which resulted in the death of her 38-year-old boyfriend. Baca is charged with murder and the special circumstance of torture, along with the special allegation of use of a deadly weapon. She is also charged…
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On December 10, 2018, in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden presiding, a jury convicted Ana Gomez, age 24, of one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one infraction count of driving while using an electronic communications device. Around mid-day on October 28, 2015, Gomez…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Alexander Shinn, age 28, for an incident which occurred on or about December 8, 2018, at a Farmersville residence which resulted in the death of his 25-year-old male roommate. Shinn is charged with one count of murder, one count of aggravated mayhem, and one count of…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced that no criminal charges have been filed at this time in connection with an officer involved shooting during the evening of December 9, 2018, in Tulare, which involved Cameron Ware, age 28. “This incident has no doubt shocked our community and I understand the pressing desire for as much…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Heather Langdon, age 37, of Goshen, for an incident resulting in the deaths of her two 10-month-old twin boys on or around December 6, 2018, in Tulare. Langdon is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of assault on a child causing death, and…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against local high school teacher Margaret Gieszinger, age 52, for an incident that occurred in her classroom with students at University Preparatory High School in Visalia on December 5, 2018. Gieszinger is charged with one count of false imprisonment, two counts of cruelty to a child, two…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Kathryn Montejano presiding, a jury convicted Macario Cerda, age 39, of three counts of forcible rape, one count of kidnapping to commit rape, one count of criminal threats, and seven counts of lewd act upon a child under the age of fourteen.…
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In response to the recent criminal filing against two Visalia Police Department officers, Bryan Ferreira and Shane Logan, the Office of the District Attorney has created a conviction review application for defendants who believe that investigations performed by the officers affected a legal resolution. “When this office announced criminal charges against these two officers, we…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Porterville resident Victor Lopez, age 33, stemming from an incident on November 27, 2018, which resulted in the death of his 31-year-old wife. Lopez is charged with one count of murder and one felony count of injuring a spouse with the special allegation that he inflicted…
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Tulare County runners and walkers are invited to raise awareness and assist victims of human trafficking at the 2019 Justice Run: Run for Freedom 5K and one mile walk on January 19, 2019, at Mooney Grove Park in Visalia. Set during Human Trafficking Awareness Month, the run will benefit Family Services of Tulare County and the Central…
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Yesterday afternoon in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian presiding, a jury convicted Tommy Ponce, Sr., age 53,of rape of an intoxicated person and rape of an unconscious person. Ponce’s extensivecriminal history includes a 2013 conviction for unlawful sex with a minor and domestic violence, a 2007 conviction…
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On November 14, 2018, in Department 4 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Brett Alldredge sentenced Roger Lee Hepner, age 38, to 48 years in prison for child molestation. Hepner will also be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. On October 16, 2018, Hepner pleaded…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Kathryn Montejano sentenced Northern gang member Eric Jimenez, age 34, of Strathmore, to death for murder. On June 13, 2018, Jimenez was found guilty of first-degree murder with the special circumstances that the murder was committed in the commission of a robbery,…
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Yesterday in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Viviano Maduena, age 20, of Porterville, and Angel Padilla-Maduena, age 19, of Terra Bella, were sentenced to 25 years and 29 years respectively in prison for a string of robberies in the south county in 2017. On October 12, 2018, the…
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For the second straight year, District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to announce the award of a $117,546 California Office of Traffic Safety Grant to help prosecute cases of driving under the influence. The grant will continue to fund a Vertical Prosecution team, primarily for felony DUI with injury cases, as well as attorney training.…
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Yesterday in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Kory Tapia, age 41, was sentenced to 136 years-to-life in prison. On October 10, 2018, Tapia was convicted of two counts of forcible rape, two counts of forcible oral copulation, one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object, one count…
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Late yesterday afternoon in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian presiding, a jury convicted Andres Espindola, age 35, of second-degree murder with the special allegation that he used a deadly weapon. Espindola also admitted a prior prison term for sexual battery, burglary, felony evading, and vehicle theft. On…
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Yesterday in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian sentenced John Torales, age 29, of Visalia and Farmersville, to 81 years and 8 months for armed robbery. On June 7, 2017, Torales was convicted of six counts of robbery and six counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, each…
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Yesterday in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Kathryn Montejano presiding, a jury convicted Wilfredo Avalos, age 25, of first-degree residential burglary, criminal threats, and dissuading a witness by force or threat. Each count is a felony and considered a strike offense. In the evening of August 26, 2017, a…
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On Friday, October 19, 2018, Tulare County prosecutors filed animal cruelty charges against Angel Perez, age 51, and Carlos Rivera, age 18, for an alleged incident which occurred on October 17, 2018, in which two dogs were killed. Both men are charged with four felony counts of cruelty to an animal with the special allegations…
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Yesterday afternoon in Department 19 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Antonio Reyes presiding, a jury found Jesus Lugo, age 36, of Pixley, guilty of felony animal abuse with the special allegation that a deadly weapon was used. On January 8, 2017, at a south county dairy, Lugo was milking…
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