Category: 2019 Press Releases

Late yesterday afternoon in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Juliet Baccone presiding, a Tulare County jury found Aristeo Sampablo, age 30, guilty of child molestation. Sampablo was convicted of six counts of sexual intercourse with a minor under the age of ten, three counts of sodomy with a minor…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden sentenced former Porterville police officer Wayne Martin, age 34, to 180 days in jail and three years probation. On June 4, 2019, Martin pleaded no contest to one felony count of meeting a minor for a lewd purpose. The crime…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Sherri Telnas, age 45, for an incident occurring on June 29, 2019, resulting in the drowning death of her 12-year-old son and the injury of her 7-year-old son. Telnas is charged with one count of murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait, one count…
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On Monday, June 24, 2019, in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden sentenced Pedro Nunez, age 27, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murder. On September 24, 2018, a jury found Nunez guilty of first-degree murder with the special circumstance that the crime was…
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On Wednesday, June 19, 2019, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, a jury found Jason Hounihan, age 42, guilty of burglarizing a Visalia jewelry store. Hounihan was convicted of one count of burglary and two counts of vandalism causing over $400 in damage. Each count is a felony. Hounihan has…
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On Monday, June 17, 2019, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Juliet Boccone sentenced Myron Johnson, age 21, to 30 years and 8 months in prison for human trafficking. On May 30, 2019, Johnson pleaded no contest to four felony counts of human trafficking of a minor. Johnson possesses…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, a jury convicted Joshua Stepp, age 30, of second-degree murder with the special allegation of using a deadly weapon (knife). A 2017 jury previously convicted Stepp of arson, but was unable to reach a unanimous decision on the charge of murder. Stepp possesses…
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Yesterday in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Juliet Boccone sentenced Allen Horsley, age 26, to 50 years-to-life in prison for killing a man at a Goshen RV park. On February 11, 2019, a jury found Horsley guilty of premeditated first-degree murder with the special allegation of using a firearm,…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden presiding, a Tulare County jury found Pedro Salinas, age 47, guilty of one count of forcible lewd act upon a child under the age of 14, seven counts of lewd act upon a child under the age of 14, one…
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Today in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Michael Sheltzer sentenced Michael Anthony Chavez, age 40, to 14 years in prison for multiple felonies and a string of dangerous and life endangering evasions of law enforcement. In a consolidation of four separate cases, Chavez pleaded no contest to…
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On May 28, 2019, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, a jury found Visalia man Gabriel Hinojos, age 24, guilty of one felony count of unlawful taking or driving of a vehicle. In a separate court trial on June 3, 2019, the court found that Hinojos possessed prior felony convictions for auto…
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On May 31, 2019, criminal charges were filed against Randy Lee Scroggins, age 43, for incidents occurring on May 21, 2019 and May 22, 2019, including the attempted murder of his wife as well as other violent crimes. Scroggins is charged with attempted murder, two counts of assault with a firearm, assault with a deadly…
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Late yesterday afternoon in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, a jury convicted Amy Kimble, age 32, of robbery, attempted carjacking, and two counts of misdemeanor petty theft. Around 12:30 am on February 1, 2018, in Ivanhoe, the victim was woken up by her car alarm and barking dogs. Looking through…
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Late in the afternoon of May 24, 2019, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, a Tulare County jury found Salvador Serna, age 24, guilty of child molestation. Serna was convicted of four counts of lewd act upon a child, with one count including the special allegation of substantial sexual conduct…
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Late yesterday afternoon in Department 12 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Judge Walter Gorelick presiding, a jury convicted Jose Ignacio Rodriguez, Jr., age 36, of Exeter, of first-degree residential burglary and misdemeanor resisting arrest. In 2004, Rodriguez was convicted and sentenced to state prison for felony possession of a dangerous weapon, stealing a vehicle,…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden sentenced three Tulare County gang members to 25 years-to-life in prison for a violent 2014 home invasion in Orosi that left multiple persons wounded and one dead. On August 22, 2018, Rolando Magana, 23, Edgar Picazo, 22, and Francisco Padilla,…
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Today in Department 3 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Nathan Leedy sentenced Roger Weaver, age 26, to seven years in state prison for domestic violence and pimping. On April 2, 2019, Weaver pleaded no contest to all counts filed against him: one count of corporal injury to a spouse, one count…
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On Friday, May 3, 2019, in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden sentenced Hector Gonzalez, age 53, to 119 years, 4 months-to-life in prison for murder and child molestation. On March 19, 2019, Gonzalez was convicted of first-degree murder with the special allegation of use of a sharp…
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Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Teresa Estrada Mullaney sentenced Kashmer Bailey, age 24, to 82 years-to-life in prison for murder. On March 24, 2019, Bailey was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder with the special allegation that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing…
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In a decision released on April 29, 2019, the California Supreme Court upheld the conviction and death sentence of Juan Sanchez, age 54, for the 1997 first-degree murders of Ermanda Reyes and Lorena Martinez. In the early morning of August 4, 1997, Sanchez entered the Porterville home of Reyes and her 17-year-old daughter, Lorena. Sanchez…
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Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior, Visalia Division, a jury convicted David Bias, age 48, of first-degree residential burglary, commercial burglary, grand theft of a firearm, and unlawful taking of a vehicle. Each count is a felony. Bias possesses a 2015 auto theft conviction and a 2010 identity theft conviction. On January…
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On April 19, 2019, at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, Melvin Watters, age 45, stipulated to a five year California parole board hearing deferral for the 1994 murder of a man at a Visalia apartment complex. Around 2:45 am on February 1, 1994, Watters went to the victim’s apartment and knocked on the door.…
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Yesterday in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden sentenced Adrian Vicente Nunez, age 39, of Porterville, to 45 years-to-life in prison for child molestation. Nunez will also be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. On March 20, 2019, Nunez pleaded no…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Judge Kathryn Montejano sentenced Apfu See, age 28, to 124 years-to-life in prison. On March 4, 2019, in a court trial, Judge Montejano found See guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and shooting at an occupied vehicle. Each count is enhanced with the special allegation…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Geronmio Sierra, age 69, for sex crimes against minors.   Sierra is charged with seven counts of child molestation. The crimes are alleged to have been committed between March 2002 and October 2002 against a minor victim. In addition, Sierra is charged with one count of…
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