This morning via remote video, TCDA prosecutors successfully argued against parole for Benigno Sanchez, age 45, for the vicious 1992 murders of an elderly couple in their home and the beating of another elderly man days later. Sanchez stipulated to a 5-year denial. Late at night on Easter Sunday April 19, 1992, Sanchez, then 17-years-old,…
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Criminal charges stemming from a three-year investigation by the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations have been filed against former Healthcare Conglomerate Associates (HCCA) executives CEO Dr. Yorai “Benny” Benzeevi of Visalia, CFO Alan Germany of Arizona, and Tulare Regional Medical Center and HCCA counsel Bruce Greene of Los Angeles. The criminal complaint…
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Today the court sentenced gang member Cesar Raya, 20, to 88 years-to-life in prison for violent crimes committed in 2017. On July 23, 2020, fellow gang member Vincent Lopez-Prado, 22, was sentenced to 92 years, 4 months-to-life for his role in the crimes. Around 4 am on February 23, 2017, using masks to conceal their…
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Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), in light of ongoing precautions surrounding the COVID19 pandemic and California’s historical shift toward prioritizing convicted criminals over their victims, have begun the process of releasing thousands of inmates, many with violent records, back into California communities. Only limited criteria exist for prosecutors…
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Yesterday a California Parole Board recommended convicted murderer Jerry McKiearnan, 72, who dismembered his roommate, be placed in an undetermined skilled nursing facility most likely in Tulare County. Prosecutors argued against the move during a video conference with Board members due to COVID-19 precautions. McKiearnan is currently serving a life sentence at the California Health…
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Today former Tulare County Sheriff’s Office sergeant Richard Ramirez, 46, was arraigned on an indictment by a Tulare County Grand Jury on charges of rape, domestic violence, and other crimes. The eleven-count indictment includes felony forcible rape, spousal rape, three counts of dissuading a witness, two counts of injuring a spouse, stalking, misdemeanor battery, annoying…
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Today in Department 4 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Tulare man Marquel Licon, 21, was sentenced to 30 years in state prison for a series of armed robberies and battery on a jail deputy while in custody. Over the course of two weeks beginning on November 15, 2018, Licon robbed seven stores…
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The Office of the Tulare County District Attorney received reports from the Visalia Police Department for filing considerations regarding an incident that occurred on May 30, 2020, near the intersection of Mooney Blvd. and Caldwell Ave. in Visalia. The reports listed the driver of the vehicle as Suspect #1 / Victim #2 and one adult…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Visalia man Bryan Buhl, age 42, for a vehicle crash on July 2, 2020, that took the life of a motorcyclist. Buhl is charged with second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence causing injury, driving under the influence over .08% BAC causing…
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SACRAMENTO, CA – Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., 74, pleaded guilty today to 13 felony counts of first-degree murder and 13 felony counts of kidnapping to commit robbery during a 13-year multicounty crime spree that terrorized much of California during the 1970s and 1980s. DeAngelo was identified through Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) in 2018, more than…
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Today in Department 20 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Reedley man Hernan Rodriguez, 29, was sentenced to death for the 2015 murders of two men in a Dinuba orchard. In the early morning darkness of May 20, 2015, in a plum orchard off Avenue 400 and Road 74 in Dinuba,…
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District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to announce the promotion of Criminal Investigator Beatriz Nicholson to supervisor. Nicholson is a 2002 graduate of the Tulare Kings Police Academy. She began her law enforcement career as a reserve officer with the Exeter Police Department. In 2005, Nicholson started her career with the TCDA Bureau of Investigations…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced murder charges in the June 5, 2020, incident in the city of Visalia that resulted in the death of a toddler. Ezequiel Ramirez, age 22, and Jasmine Blase, age 18, are each charged with one count of murder, assault on a child causing death, and torture. Additionally, Ramirez faces…
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Today District Attorney Tim Ward has announced additional murder charges in the death of a Visalia woman that occurred on May 26, 2020. Adam Hernandez, age 26, is charged with one count of first-degree murder with the special circumstances that the crime was committed during the commission of a burglary and a robbery, and special…
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Yesterday Visalia man Kyle Baker, age 22, was arraigned on grand theft auto, looting, and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia for allegedly stealing a car on May 30, 2020. Prior to this filing, Baker had three open felony cases and five misdemeanor cases. On April 19, 2020, Baker was alleged to have been driving…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced murder charges against Tulare County resident Barry Dantzler, age 30, in the deaths of two Tulare County women in separate incidents on May 26 and May 29, 2020. Dantzler is charged with two counts of murder. Count 1 is enhanced with special circumstances that the murder was committed during…
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The Office of the District Attorney appreciates the interest in the incident that occurred on Mooney Boulevard over the weekend. As of this time, our office has not received any completed reports from the Visalia Police Department. We are aware that the agency intends to submit reports to us when the investigation is complete. Therefore,…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Farmersville man Randy Scroggins, age 44, was sentenced to 81 years-to-life in prison for attempting to kill his wife. On December 13, 2019, a jury found Scroggins guilty of attempted murder, assault with a firearm, domestic violence, and being felon in possession of a firearm…
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A Tulare woman was arraigned last week on a theft charge after having been released from custody on $0 bail as part of the judicial branch’s emergency orders concerning COVID-19. Nikki Gonzales, age 32, was arrested on May 5 after allegedly stealing items at a Tulare drugstore. In 2020 alone, Gonzales has been charged with…
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On May 5, 2020, at the California Institution for Men in Chino, a California parole board issued a 5-year parole denial for Juan Lopez, age 64, for the 1990 murder of his wife. On November 24, 1990, Lopez’s wife was found dead in a motel room in Lindsay. She had been struck with a liquor…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced the filing of criminal charges against seven individuals for the April 21 break-in of a north Visalia market. The following individuals were charged on April 23: Samantha Carrillo, 20 – looting, second-degree commercial burglary, vandalism over $400, receiving stolen property, attempted looting, misdemeanor giving of false information to a…
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Effective at 5 pm today, the Tulare County Superior Court will implement an emergency bail schedule (EBS) adopted by the California Judicial Council as part of its emergency rules on April 6. Under Emergency Rule 4, bail for all misdemeanor and felony offenses will be set at $0. Exemptions to the new schedule include violent…
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In a news release Friday as Californians sheltered at home during a national emergency, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he granted clemency to convicted murderer Richard Flowers. In 1994, Flowers robbed, beat, and murdered 78-year-old Tulare woman Mary Eloise Garcia. What little Ms. Garcia had, Flowers took and used it to purchase cocaine. He was…
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Since the onset of the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the TCDA Bureau of Investigations has received nearly 50 calls from residents reporting price gouging. Price gouging is when a seller tries to take an unfair advantage of consumers during an emergency or disaster by greatly increasing prices (above 10% prior to an emergency declaration) for essential…
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A Tulare County man was arraigned today on murder charges in Visalia. Jarod Martinez, age 19, is charged with the stabbing murder of a man in Porterville on March 18, 2020. The murder charge is enhanced with special allegations of use of a deadly weapon, that the crime was committed when Martinez was out of…
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