On May 8, 2024, in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Tony Debem, age 30, to life in prison for child molestation. Debem was convicted of two felony counts of sexual intercourse or sodomy of a child aged 10 or under and two felony counts of lewd act…
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On May 7, 2024, in Department 4 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Elijah Harris, age 28, to life in prison for child molestation. Harris pleaded no contest to one count of oral copulation of a child ten years of age or younger, and one count of sexual penetration with…
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Yesterday in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Lorenzo Pineda, age 28, for attempted murder. On August 2, 2017, around 6 pm, the victim was eating dinner with his parents at a restaurant inside the Circle 7 gas station in Visalia. As the group…
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On May 3, 2024, in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Jermon Jackson, age 26, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for violent crimes spanning from 2017 and 2019, including murder. On April 19, 2017, Jackson and other gang members conducted a drive-by shooting of rival gang…
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On May 1, 2024, in Department 3 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Rosario Valenzuela, age 62, to life in state prison for child molestation. On March 13, 2024, Valenzuela pleaded no contest to two counts of lewd act upon a child under the age of fourteen. Valenzuela admitted the…
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Today in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Elizabeth Nungaray, age 47, to life in prison for the DUI deaths of two people and significant injuries to multiple others. At approximately 3:20 in the afternoon on June 19, 2021, Porterville Police Department officers responded to Main…
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On Wednesday, April 24, 2024, after thorough investigation, criminal investigators from the Tulare County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigations arrested a male juvenile, age 16, for the November 2023 murder of Dinuba man Sergio Martin. The juvenile defendant is charged with murder and the special allegations of burglary, personal and intentional discharge of a firearm,…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, TCDA prosecutors secured a murder conviction against Andrew Hernandez, age 29, and Curtis Williams, age 31, for the 2020 shooting death of a man at a Visalia apartment complex. On November 28, 2020, the victim, age 33, and Williams were engaged in an argument in…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Francisco Rodriguez, 27, for murder. On August 7, 2022, at about 1:30 am, Rodriguez and others got into a confrontation with another group inside of a gas station on Lovers Lane in Visalia. A fight ensued, which eventually…
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On April 4, 2024, in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court reduced the sentence of Jesus Gaytan, age 40, from life without the possibility of parole to seven years under provisions set forth in Senate Bil 1437 (2018) addressing accomplice liability for felony murder. Early morning on Christmas Day 2003, Gaytan…
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On April 12, 2024, in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Jeffrey Spears, age 45, to life in prison for domestic violence and other violent crimes. Around 9:30 in the morning on September 26, 2023, Tulare County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence in east Porterville for a report…
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The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office will be holding a public meeting on April 30, 2024, to discuss the AB 481 2023 Annual Military Equipment Report and its funding, acquisition, and/or use of military equipment as defined by the bill. The meeting will be held from 2 pm to 3 pm. Location: Tulare County District…
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The public is invited to observe National Crime Victims’ Rights Week 2024 at the District Attorney’s annual memorial quilt unveiling at 6 pm on Thursday, April 25 at the Visalia Convention Center Charter Oak Ballroom. Since 1981, National Crime Victims’ Rights Week has brought attention to the millions of Americans impacted by crime and the…
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Yesterday in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Luis Fernando Bernal, age 25, to life in state prison for child molestation. On March 6, 2024, Bernal pleaded no contest to one count of oral copulation with a child ten years of age or younger and one count of…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced convicted child molester James Mills, age 59, to 575 years-to-life in prison for crimes against a child. On January 29, 2024, a Tulare County jury found Mills guilty of eleven counts of lewd act upon a child under the age of fourteen…
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On March 19, 2024, TCDA prosecutors successfully argued against the early release of Luis Gonzalez, age 76, despite his 2010 violent felony criminal conviction and a 195 years-to-life sentence for the aggravated sexual assault of two children between 2002 and 2006. Gonzalez petitioned the court for compassionate release. TCDA victim advocates assisted 20 family members…
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On March 18, 2024, in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, a Tulare County jury found Tony Debem, age 30, guilty of child molestation. Debem was convicted of two felony counts of sexual intercourse or sodomy of a child aged 10 or under and two felony counts of lewd act upon…
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Yesterday in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Wesley Anderson, age 24, to life in prison for attempted murder and sexual assault. On November 2, 2022, Visalia Police Department officers responded to a 911 call of an assault in progress. When officers arrived at the residence, they contacted an adult…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Swarndeep Basra, age 25, to life in prison for murder. On May 12, 2021, after an altercation in the kitchen of their shared Visalia residence, Basra stabbed his sister-in-law while her two children ate breakfast and proceeded to kick her while she…
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On March 10, 2024, in Department 10 of the Visalia Division of the Tulare County Superior Court, a Tulare County jury again found true that Rickie Silguero Coronado, age 59, of Porterville, is a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) under the Sexually Violent Predator Act. Coronado appealed his original SVP conviction from 2015. In 2002, Coronado…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Visalia man David Edma, age 29, for DUI murder. On June 15, 2018, around 9:30 pm, California Highway Patrol officers were dispatched to a collision on SR 63 south of Ave 392 near Cutler. When they arrived, they…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Marc Briseno, age 27, to life in prison for the 2020 stabbing murder of a man near Dinuba. In the afternoon of September 27, 2020, Tulare County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the area of Avenue 400 near Road 104 regarding a…
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On February 9, 2024, in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, TCDA prosecutors secured multiple felony convictions against Jeffrey Spears, age 45, for a 2023 domestic violence incident. Around 9:30 in the morning on September 26, 2023, Tulare County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence in east Porterville for a report of…
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Today in Department 4 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, judge Michael Sheltzer presiding, former Healthcare Conglomerate Associates CEO Yorai “Benny” Benzeevi, age 61, pleaded no contest to six felony counts and two misdemeanor counts found in the complaint. Count 6 – Felony Conflict of Interest (Contract related to funding lawsuit against Dr.…
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On January 31, 2024, via a virtual hearing, TCDA prosecutors secured a 3-year denial of parole for Roman Cortez, age 55. Cortez is currently serving a life sentence at Mule Creek State Prison for murder. Around 1:30 am the morning of February 17, 1991, Cortez was involved in the beating death of a 22-year-old male…
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