District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges in a recent drug sale sting coordinated by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville. Alvaro Carranza, age 42, Elizabeth Diaz, age 33, Paul Lara, age 48, Nicholas Miller, age 28, and Hector Gonzalez, age 24, are each charged with one felony count…
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On Friday, July 13, 2018, in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Kathryn Montejano presiding, a jury convicted Naigien Saephan, age 38, of Visalia, of one felony count of driving a stolen vehicle. Saephan possesses a prior strike conviction for arson of an inhabited residence in 1998 and two prior…
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Today in Department 12 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Nathan Ide presiding, a Tulare County jury found Adrian Souza, age 50, of Visalia, guilty of one misdemeanor count of indecent exposure. In the mid-afternoon of March 7, 2018, at a local Visalia middle school, a parent waiting for an after school…
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Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian presiding, a jury found Aaron Rowe, age 28, of Visalia, guilty of the murder and assault of his 47-day-old daughter, Peyton. Rowe was convicted of second- degree murder and assault likely to cause great bodily injury. In the late evening…
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On June 28, 2018, in Department 19 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Antonio Reyes sentenced John Moisa IV, age 26, of Porterville, to 50 years-to-life in prison for murder. On April 6, 2018, a jury convicted Moisa of one count of first-degree premeditated murder with the special allegation of…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Kathryn Montejano presiding, a jury reached a verdict of death for Northern gang member Eric Jimenez, age 33, of Strathmore, following a June 13, 2018, conviction for multiple murders. Jimenez was found guilty of first-degree murder with the special circumstances that the…
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Yesterday at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, a California parole board denied parole for Raphael De La Rosa, age 43, for a 1993 shooting in Cutler. De La Rosa was given a three-year denial and is not scheduled for another hearing until 2021. Around 9 pm on September 6, 1993, a gunman identified as…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden sentenced Joseph Baltezor, age 42, of Visalia, to 59 years and 8 months-to- life in prison for child molestation. On April 13, 2018, Baltezor was convicted of 20 counts of lewd act on a child under the age of fourteen,…
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On Tuesday, May 29, 2018, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian sentenced Wayne House, Jr., of Visalia, to 20 years suspended state prison, one year in jail, and monthly restitution which will be determined at a hearing on June 28. On April 9, 2018, House pleaded no…
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Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian sentenced John Weece, age 60, of Tulare, to 510 years and eight months-to-life in prison for child molestation. On December 20, 2017, a jury found Weece guilty of three counts of sexual intercourse with a minor under the age of…
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Today in Department 3 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Nathan Leedy unsealed a 27 count indictment handed down by a criminal grand jury against father Bruce Greer, age 62, and son Justin Greer, age 37, both of Exeter, for grand theft of cattle and embezzlement. These counts also carry special allegations…
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On May 24, 2018, at Corcoran State Prison, a California parole board denied parole for Alfred Galaz, age 38, for the 1999 murder of a man at a Tulare gas station. Galaz was given a three-year denial and is not scheduled for another hearing until 2021. On January 14, 1999, Galaz and three of his…
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Late yesterday afternoon in Department 19 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Antonio Reyes presiding, a jury convicted Ruben Carreles, age 31, of Porterville, of pre-meditated and deliberate attempted murder of a peace officer, assault with a firearm on a peace officer, felon in possession of a firearm, and felon…
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On May 18, 2018, in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Michael Sheltzer sentenced Michael Yocom, age 51, of Strathmore, to 40-years-to- life in prison for attempted murder. On January 16, 2018, a jury found Yocom guilty of attempted premeditated murder on a peace officer, assault on a…
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On Friday, May 18, 2018, in Department 19 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Antonio Reyes sentenced Jose Magana Ibarra, age 32, of Lindsay, to 120 days in jail, three years supervised probation, and lifetime registration as a sex offender. On February 9, 2018, a jury convicted Ibarra of one…
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Yesterday in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Kathryn Montejano sentenced Jose Contreras Casarez Jr, age 36, of Visalia, to 17 years in state prison for carjacking and other crimes. On March 23, 2018, Casarez pleaded no contest to one count of carjacking, one count of second-degree robbery, one count…
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On May 7 and 8, 2018, criminal investigators from the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigationsserved 27 felony and misdemeanor arrest warrants for suspects wanted for allegedly committing welfare fraud in Tulare County. In addition, another four individuals wanted for felony welfare fraud charges surrendered themselves to the Tulare County Superior Court. The following individuals were arrested…
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Today in Department 11 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Jennifer Shirk sentenced Brian Huerta, age 29, of Dinuba, for indecent exposure. On the previous day, a jury found Huerta guilty of one count of indecent exposure and one count of lewd conduct in public. Both counts are misdemeanors. On July 29,…
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On May 1, 2018, at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego, a California parole board denied parole for Ramiro Bautista, age 71, for the 1989 shooting death of a child in Dinuba. Bautista was given a five-year denial and is not scheduled for another hearing until 2023. On April 16, 1989, the…
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On April 12, 2018, at Pelican Bay State Prison, a parole board denied parole for Eric Robles, age 40, for multiple shootings near downtown Visalia in 1999. Roble was given a five-year denial and is not eligible for another hearing until 2023. Early on July 15, 1999, Robles and a friend were drinking beers at…
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Yesterday afternoon in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian sentenced Enrique Carrizales, age 29, of Dinuba, to 81 years-to-life in prison for committing attempted murder, and a violent gang home invasion attempted- robbery of a family of four including two young children. On November 17, 2017, a jury…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden presiding, a jury found Joseph Baltezor, age 42, of Visalia, guilty of child molestation. Baltezor was convicted of 20 counts of lewd act on a child under the age of fourteen, one count of lewd act on a child aged…
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On March 30, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown reversed the decision of a California parole board’srecommended release of convicted murderer Gerardo Zavala, age 46. The Office of the District Attorney strongly objected to Zavala’s release at his most recent parole hearing on November 8, 2017. On January 24, 2001, Zavala and two others lured a 17-year-old African-American minor…
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Today in Department 19 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Antonio Reyes presiding, a jury convicted John Moisa IV, age 26, of Porterville, of one count of first-degree premeditated murder with the special allegation of intentional discharge of a firearm. Around 1:30 in the morning on August 25, 2013, the…
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Yesterday in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian sentenced Frankie Hernandez, age 27, of Tulare, to 40 years-to-life in prison for murder. On January 24, 2018, a jury found Hernandez guilty of second-degree murder with the special allegations of using a gun and committing the murder for the…
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