Today outgoing California Governor Gavin Newsom announced his intent to commute all 548 California death sentences to life without the possibility of parole. For years, I have advocated for truth in sentencing for victims of violent crime and their families. The death penalty is reserved for the most egregious offenders, predominantly those who callously took…
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Yesterday via video conference, TCDA prosecutors secured a 3-year denial of parole for Jose Luis Gonzalez, age 61. Gonzalez is currently serving a life sentence at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad for murder. Just before noon on November 26, 2016, Gonzalez shot the adult male victim once in the chest outside of the victim’s…
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A Tulare County sex offender who was sentenced to prison in 2015 was again convicted of crimes against children after a new victim came forward. In 2015, Godofredo Gomez, now age 52 and a popular Spanish language DJ in Cutler Orosi at the time, pleaded no contest to six counts of felony child molestation. The…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Jacob Ramirez Aguilar, age 22, for a south county shooting that took the life of an adult male victim. It is alleged that just after midnight on September 27, 2026, in Richgrove, Aguilar shot and killed the victim after a brief verbal altercation. After investigation, law…
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Today in Department 23 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Cristian Alejandro Garcia, age 32, to 155 years to life in prison for crimes against children. At trial on May 15, 2026, TCDA prosecutors secured guilty verdicts against Garcia on nine counts of child molestation with special allegations…
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On September 25, 2026, via video conference, TCDA prosecutors secured a 3-year denial of parole for Kevin Black, age 56. Black is currently serving a life sentence at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility for crimes against children. The crimes were committed between September 1, 2000, and July 3, 2001, against three minor victims under…
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On September 15, 2026, a California parole board issued a 7-year denial of parole for Visalia man Dexter Rabadan, age 34. Rabadan is currently serving a life sentence at Calipatria State Prison for carjacking. On August 11, 2009, the victim arrived at his friend’s apartment complex and parked his vehicle. At that time, Rabadan and…
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On September 18, 2026, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Visalia man Tyler Vai See, age 23, to 40 years to life in state prison for extorting and threatening minors for sex. The crimes began in the fall of 2023. Using popular social media platforms like Instagram,…
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On September 10, 2026, in Department 23 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Randy Langley, age 50, for violent crimes involving a firearm, child abuse, and domestic violence. In the afternoon of June 11, 2026, Langley arrived at the Tulare apartment of the adult…
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On September 2, 2026, via video conference, TCDA prosecutors secured a 3-year denial of parole for Felix Madrigal, age 51. Madrigal is currently serving a life sentence at California State Prison, Corcoran, after being convicted of killing a 9-month-old baby in early 2000. According to law enforcement records, at approximately 8:35 in the morning on…
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On September 4, 2026, via video conference, TCDA prosecutors secured a 3-year denial of parole for Jose Maria Ramirez, age 46. Ramirez is currently serving a life sentence at Avenal State Prison for his role in a 2000 drive by shooting in Tulare. Between January 28 and January 29, 2000, Ramirez and co-defendant Juan Pineda…
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On August 26, 2026, in Department 21 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Lucas Dee Drak, age 44, to 18 years, 8 months in state prison for a July 2026 stabbing attack in Porterville. Late in the evening on July 9, Drak entered an apartment building lobby armed…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced the filing of criminal charges in Fresno County Superior Court against Dustin Crawford, age 42, for the August 20, 2026, stabbing attack of a Fresno County District Attorney prosecutor near the courthouse in downtown Fresno. Crawford is charged with assault on a public official, attempted murder, and assault with…
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On August 20, 2026, via video conference, TCDA prosecutors secured a 3-year denial of parole for Ernie Sedillo, age 75. Sedillo is currently serving a life sentence for crimes against children at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla. In April 1997, Sedillo assaulted a seven-year-old female victim at his home while he worked as a church…
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On August 20, 2026, in Department 20 of the Tulare County Superior Court, TCDA prosecutors secured guilty verdicts against Cisco Vasquez, age 30, and Saul Ingraham, age 27, for the 2020 murder of a man in Tulare. At about 11:00 pm on Christmas Eve in 2020, multiple 911 calls were received by the Tulare Police…
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On August 11, 2026, a California parole board issued a 3-year denial for Ramon Mendoza, age 57. Mendoza is currently serving a life sentence at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Corcoran for stabbing multiple people in an apartment. On October 29, 1992, Mendoza went to the Visalia apartment of his ex-girlfriend, held a…
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TCDA prosecutors successfully argued against the release of Jesus Molina, age 52, at a parole suitability hearing on August 4, 2026. Parole commissioners issued a 3-year denial. Molina is currently serving a life sentence for kidnapping and sexual assault at Avenal State Prison. On September 20, 1998, in the Cutler area, Molina arrived at gathering…
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On August 4, 2026, a California parole board issued a 3-year denial of parole for Omar Galeana, age 41. Galeana is currently serving his sentence at Wasco State Prison. In the late evening of July 16, 2006, Tulare County Sheriff deputies were dispatched to a Visalia area residence on Road 124 concerning an adult male…
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Monday in Department 4 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Manuel Luis Villarreal, age 39, for the sexual assault of a child and an adult female. The crimes were committed from August 2013 to March 2022 in both Dinuba and Tulare. While Villarreal was in custody…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Efren Reyes-Navarro, age 38, to a total of 55 years, 8 months to life in prison for the abuse of a child. At trial on May 6, 2026, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Reyes-Navarro on 18 counts of…
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Two Tulare County men will remain in prison for their roles in separate drive by shootings. Noel Ambriz, age 33, was denied parole for 3 years by a California parole board on July 15, 2026. Just before 4 pm on June 23, 2008, in the Tipton area, Ambriz and others committed a drive by shooting…
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Today in Department 3 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Dejaun Jones, age 40, to 5 years in state prison for lewd acts with teens. The crimes were committed against two 15-year-old female victims between September 2022 and April 2023 at Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia, where Jones worked…
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On June 25, 2026, via video conference, TCDA prosecutors secured a 5-year denial of parole for Senarble Demonze Campbell, age 52. Campbell committed a series of sexual assaults and armed robberies over the course of an evening and morning in late 1995 in Visalia. He is currently serving a life sentence at the California Men’s…
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On Monday, June 22, 2026, in Department 21 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Oscar Lopez-Almeida, age 33, to 26 years in prison for a deadly 2020 DUI crash and jail fight. Just before 6 pm on March 6, 2020, near the intersection of Ave 184 and Road…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Joe Prieto, age 28, for a recent incident that resulted in a stolen ambulance and police pursuit. It is alleged that on June 17, 2026, Prieto, who had been transported by ambulance to the Tulare hospital, stole a different ambulance, forcing an EMT to jump out…
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