Category: Press Releases

In the weeks leading up to this 4th of July weekend, investigators from the TCDA Bureau of Investigations and Tulare County Fire Department removed 540 pounds of illegal fireworks off the streets. During a series of joint operations targeting sales, investigators worked to intercept dangerous “Illegal” fireworks that have been brought into the county in…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges related to the theft of 42,000 pounds of pistachios in the south county. Alberto Montemayor, 35, is charged with grand theft of vegetables and fruits and receiving stolen property. The crimes allegedly were committed between May 19, 2021, and June 16, 2021. Each count is a felony.…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the Court sentenced Yovani Martinez, age 33, to 50 years-to-life in prison for child molestation and possession of child pornography. On May 5, 2021, a jury found Martinez guilty of two counts of digital penetration of a child under the age of ten, six counts…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced murder charges stemming from a June 19, 2021, DUI crash in Porterville that took the lives of two children, ages 8 and 10, and left two other children, ages 5 and 13, with severe injuries. One child currently remains in critical condition. An additional two adult victims were also…
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On Monday, June 7, 2021, at the South County Justice Center, a jury convicted Anthony Ray Rojas, age 24, of attempted murder and being a felon in possession of firearm. The jury also found true the allegations that the attempted murder was committed with premeditation and deliberation, and that during the attempted murder, Rojas was…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced the filing of criminal charges against Jorge Vasquez, 46, for crimes against multiple children. Vasquez is charged with eight counts of child molestation and one count of failure to register as a sex offender. The crimes are alleged to have occurred between June 5, 2018, and June 5, 2021,…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges related to a June 3, 2021, incident in Visalia that left a 3-year-old child dead in a vehicle during a triple-digit heatwave. Eustajia Dominguez Mojica, 28, is charged with child abuse and the special allegation of willful harm or injury resulting in death, involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy to…
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On May 27, 2021, in Department 14 of the Tulare County Superior Court, a jury found Jimmy Reed, age 46, guilty of attempted murder, assault, domestic violence, and attempted criminal threats. Numerous charges are enhanced with special allegations that Reed caused great bodily injury. After midnight on May 21, 2020, at a gas station on…
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On May 13, 2021, in Department 3 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Ana Gomez, age 27, to two years in state prison for violating her terms of probation stemming from a 2019 vehicular manslaughter conviction. On October 19, 2020, Gomez was arrested for DUI by the Visalia Police Department with a…
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Late Friday afternoon at the South County Justice Center in Porterville, a jury convicted Ronald Thomas, age 63, of one count of annoying or molesting a child with a prior sex crime conviction, and failure to file a change of address as a sex offender. In early 2019, Thomas, an area transient, would frequently park…
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Today at the South County Justice Center in Porterville, the court sentenced Steven Hernandez, age 25, to life without the possibility of parole for gang murder. On April 21, 2021, Hernandez pleaded to all charges filed against him by the District Attorney: first-degree murder with the special circumstances that crime was committed for the benefit…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced murder charges in the May 12, 2021, incident in the city of Visalia that resulted in the death of a female victim. Swarndeep Singh Basra, age 22, is charged with one count of murder with two special allegations for the use of two different knives. The defendant is scheduled…
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Today 41 California District Attorneys have filed a petition with the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) requesting the repeal of temporary emergency regulations awarding additional credits to over 76,000 state prison inmates. The regulations passed under a claim of an “emergency” and were first made public on Friday April 30, 2021,…
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Late Friday afternoon, May 7, 2021, in Department 14 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, a jury found Richard Ramirez, age 47, guilty of crimes against three victims. Adult Victim 1 –The defendant was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of battery. The crimes occurred in October or November of 2008. Ramirez was charged…
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Yesterday in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, a Tulare County jury found Yovani Martinez, age 33, guilty of two counts of digital penetration of a child under the age of ten, six counts of lewd act upon a child under the age of fourteen, one count of possession of child…
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Nearly 50 years ago, residents in the city of Visalia were the target of a prowler and experienced a series of burglaries, over 100 in all, that left homeowners and law enforcement perplexed. Drawers were rummaged, underwear was strewn throughout the home, and small, often insignificant items were stolen or re-arranged. The community dubbed the…
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As part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week 2021, we’re partnering with Mothers Against Drunk Driving California to bring awareness to the irreversible consequences of driving under the influence. On June 19, 2017, near #Porterville, one-year-old Ezriyan Soto was killed when a drunk driver hit the car he was riding in as it was turning…
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On April 6, 2021, TCDA prosecutors secured a 7-year denial of parole for Richard Alonzo, age 42, for a gang altercation that left an innocent bystander dead. Around 5:30 pm on January 31, 1995, Alonzo, who was 16-years-old at the time, was involved in a rival gang shootout at the intersection of Ben Maddox and…
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Yesterday afternoon in Department 19 at the South County Justice Center, a Tulare County jury returned guilty verdicts against Charles Higgins, age 45, for rape and child molestation. The jury found Higgins guilty of forcible rape of a child victim age 14 years, attempted sodomy by use of force, and three counts of lewd act…
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On Thursday, April 1, 2021, Tulare County prosecutors secured a 5-year parole denial for Charles Hall, age 66, dubbed the “Oildale Rapist” for a series of violent sex crimes committed in 1981 in Kern County. The crimes and prosecution received significant media and community attention at the time. Between May 29, 1981, and August 22,…
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On late Friday afternoon, April 2, 2021, at the South County Justice Center in Porterville, a Tulare County jury convicted Dale Watson, age 55, of the murder of 18-year-old Dynasty Alexander. In the morning of March 3, 2019, Watson picked up the victim outside a Tulare apartment complex “to go to the store.” Security footage…
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On March 24, 2021, a California parole board granted parole for Jon Gregorich, age 46, who was convicted of murdering a young man outside of a Visalia bar. In the early morning of May 5, 1994, outside of the former Shagnasty’s bar in Visalia, Gregorich and two other men, Leo Sisco and Rocky Rodrigues, beat…
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Today in Department 3 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Jason Haley, 40, was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to criminal charges related to the sexual abuse of a single female victim. The crimes are alleged to have occurred between 2008 and 2010 during Haley’s employment as a local high school band coach. …
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On February 25, 2021, at the South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Eddie Lopez, age 25, to life in prison for violent crimes committed against family members. On January 31, 2020, Lopez was convicted of felony attempted murder, kidnapping, corporal injury of a spouse, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, false imprisonment, carjacking,…
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