For the seventh straight year, District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to announce the award of a California Office of Traffic Safety Grant to help prosecute cases of driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. The $215,128 grant will continue to fund a Vertical Prosecution team through September 2024, primarily for felony DUI with…
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Today at the South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Kenneth Charles Smith, age 65, to two consecutive sentences of life without the possibility of parole for the 2015 murder of his parents. On October 4, 2015, Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence in Porterville for a welfare check. Upon searching a semi-trailer on…
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In a legal history making moment, Tulare County District Attorney law clerk Peter Park passed the rigorous California bar exam on his first attempt making him the youngest person to ever pass the exam at age 17. According to research, the previous record holder was 18 years old. Park received his test results on November…
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Yesterday TCDA prosecutors filed criminal charges against Visalia man Fidel Josue Madrigal, age 33, after an investigation by the Visalia Police Department relating to crimes against children. Madrigal is charged with one count of possession of child pornography with the special allegations that he possesses prior felony convictions. Madrigal is currently a registered sex offender…
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On November 17, 2023, in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Octavio Larios, age 42, to life in prison for child molestation. Larios will also be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. On October 23, 2023, Larios pleaded no contest to…
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This morning in Department 22 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Pennie Henson Ince, age 54, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of her 65-year-old husband last year. At 1:19 pm on March 6, 2022, Ince called the victim’s daughter that the…
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Today at the South County Justice Center, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict for Kenneth Charles Smith, age 65, for the 2015 murder of his parents. On October 4, 2015, Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence in Porterville for a welfare check. Upon searching a semi-trailer on the property, deputies discovered the bodies of…
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Yesterday via a virtual hearing, Louis Herrera Gallegos, age 61, stipulated to a 3-year denial of parole. Gallegos is currently serving a life sentence for sexual assault and is incarcerated at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla. On the afternoon of April 25, 1998, Gallegos, a convicted sex offender at the time, committed a violent sexual…
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District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to announce the promotion of long-time victim advocate Denise Pearson-Jordan to supervisor. With more than 20 years of experience in the criminal justice field, Pearson-Jordan began her career as an evidence technician with the Porterville Police Department before joining the Office of the District Attorney as a victim advocate…
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Late yesterday afternoon in Department 22 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict for Pennie Henson Ince, age 54, for the murder of her 65-year-old husband. At 1:19 pm on March 6, 2022, Ince called the victim’s daughter that the victim needed an ambulance and hung…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Richard Ray Ramirez, age 49, for a weekend incident in Visalia involving an adult female. Ramirez was arrested on October 8, 2023. Ramirez, a former law enforcement officer in Tulare County, is charged with three felony counts – torture, injury to a significant other after a…
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On Friday, October 6, 2023, at a virtual hearing, TCDA prosecutors secured the denial of parole for Angela Thompson, age 64, in the 2000 child abuse death of her adopted daughter. The denial is for 5 years. Thompson is currently serving a life sentence at the California Institution for Women in Corona. At the time…
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On September 29, 2023, in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Jose Delgado, age 34, to 5 years, 4 months in state prison for possession of fentanyl for sale and gun crimes. In March 2023, Tulare Police Department officers received a tip about drugs being sold…
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On September 28, 2023, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Lucas Floyd, age 24, to life in prison for child molestation. Floyd plead guilty to one count of sexual intercourse with a child 10 years of age or younger on February 16, 2023. This crime is a felony and a…
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Yesterday in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, TCDA prosecutors secured guilty verdicts against Felimon Salas, age 37, for domestic violence and torture. From January 18, 2021, to January 20, 2021, Salas repeatedly and violently beat the mother of his child with his fists, cooking utensils, and beer bottles…
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Yesterday in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Arthur Pena Alvidrez, age 76, to 885 years-to-life in prison for child molestation. On Thursday, July 20, 2023, TCDA prosecutors secured guilty verdicts on two counts of oral copulation with a child ten years old or younger, one count of sexual penetration…
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On September 14, 2023, via a virtual hearing, TCDA prosecutors secured the denial of parole for Luis Gonzalez, age 76. Gonzalez is currently serving a life sentence at the California Substance Abuse Facility in Corcoran for child molestation. From 2002 to 2006, Gonzalez molested two minor victims. In 2010, Gonzalez was convicted by a jury…
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On Friday, September 15, 2023, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against gang member Jermon Jackson, age 25, for violent crimes spanning from 2017 and 2019. On April 19, 2017, Jackson and other gang members conducted a drive-by shooting of rival gang members in the parking…
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At a virtual hearing on August 30, 2023, TCDA prosecutors secured a denial of parole for Jessie Farias, age 48, for the 1995 murder and attempted murder of two men in Visalia. Farias is currently serving a life sentence at California State Prison, Sacramento. Parole was denied for 10 years. On May 25, 1995, Farias…
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Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Fernando Abarca Barragan, age 56, to 226 years-to-life in prison for child molestation and lifetime sex offender registration. On August 8, 2023, a jury found Barragan of guilty of twenty-two counts of lewd act upon a child under the age of fourteen…
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On August 29, 2023, in Department 21 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Juana Elias, age 57, to suspended jail and community service for allowing alcohol at an underage party that resulted in a DUI death. Prosecutors argued on the record for an extended jail sentence. On Halloween…
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Today in Department 22 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Jacoby Jackson, age 33, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for special circumstance murder. On April 9, 2023, Tulare firefighters and police officers responded to a massage business on K Street. Upon arrival, they found…
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District Attorney Tim Ward is urging Governor Gavin Newsom to STOP potential legislation aimed at the early release of felons. “Senate Bill 81 and Senate Bill 94 are of particular importance to those who have experienced victimization by violent crime. Both of these bills concern the potential early release of serious offenders through reduced parole…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Natharan Giovanni Ruiz, age 31, to 156 years-to-life in prison for child molestation. On Friday, March 3, 2023, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Ruiz for child molestation against four separate victims. At trial, the jury found Ruiz guilty…
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On August 8, 2023, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Guido Vientresca, age 53, for multiple crimes starting in 2019. In the evening of September 22, 2019, Visalia Police Department officers learned that Vientresca had taken an adult female hostage in her home where he…
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