Category: Press Releases

On March 6, 2019, at Corcoran State Prison, a California parole board issued a three-year denial for Raymond Chavez, age 64, for the 1979 murder of a man in north Visalia. Around 3:15 in the morning on August 26, 1979, after an evening of drinking, Chavez and four other males got in to two cars…
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Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian presiding, a jury convicted Kashmer Bailey, age 24, of one count of first-degree murder with the special allegation that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing death, and one count of attempted murder. Around 1:21 am in the morning…
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Today Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order declaring that no death row inmate’s sentence will be carried out as long as he is in office.  He spoke about the death penalty being “inconsistent with our bedrock values and strikes at the very heart of what it means to be a Californian.” As a Californian,…
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Late in the afternoon of March 8, 2019, in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, a jury found Kevin Light, age 34, guilty of forcible rape of a minor as a felony. The crime occurred in 2016 in the Porterville area. Sentencing for Light is scheduled for April 8,…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced murder charges against Dale William Watson, age 52, in the death of 18-year-old Dynasty Alexander on the morning of March 3, 2019. Watson is charged with first-degree murder with the special allegation of intentional discharge of a firearm causing death, as well as committing the offense while on felony…
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Late on Monday, March 4, 2019, in a court trial in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Judge Kathryn Montejano found Apfu See, age 28, guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and shooting at an occupied vehicle. Each count is enhanced with the special allegation that a firearm was used. See was also…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden sentenced Jessica Murphy, age 27, to 12 years in state prison for financial and drug crimes. On January 29, 2019, Murphy pleaded to 84 counts of identity theft with the special allegation of having been convicted of a prior identity…
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On February 12, 2019, at San Quentin State Prison, a California parole board issued a three-year denial for David Mason, age 74, for his involvement in the 1986 murder of a man outside Porterville. Around 1 am on Sunday, October 26, 1986, a Tulare County Sheriff’s deputy found a manshot to death in his Ford…
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Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian sentenced Andres Espindola, age 35, to 16 years-to-life in prison for murder. On November 6, 2018, a jury convicted Espindola of second-degree murder with the special allegation that he used a deadly weapon. Espindola also admitted a prior prison term…
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Late yesterday afternoon in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, a jury found Allen Horsley, age 26, guilty of premeditated first-degree murder with the special allegation of using a firearm, and assault with a deadly weapon (gun). Just before 1 am on November 3, 2016, Tulare County Sheriff’s deputies responded to ashooting…
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District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to announce the promotion of Criminal Investigator Jose Benavides to supervisor. Benavides joined the TCDA Bureau of Investigations in 2001 as an Investigator Aide. After graduating from the 100th extended police academy class at the College of the Sequoias, he was promoted to Investigator and has worked in variety…
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Today in Department 22 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Walter Gorelick sentenced Steven Elms, age 44, to the California maximum sentence of 5 years and 4 months in prison for his 11th DUI conviction. On January 17, 2019, a jury convicted Elms of felony driving under the influence of alcohol…
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Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to welcome Scott Spielman as theoffice’s newest supervising deputy district attorney. A graduate of California State University, Fresno (BS, Criminology, 1990) and the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law (Juris Doctor, 1993), Spielman beganhis career as a deputy district attorney for the Kern County District…
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Yesterday criminal investigators from the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigations, as well as officers from the Porterville Police Department, assisted California parole officers in a PC290 sex offender detail to ensure compliance with registrant’s terms of parole. Conducted in southern Tulare County, a total of 24 compliance checks were made. Seventeen registrants were contacted and searched…
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Late in the afternoon of January 25, 2019, in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, a jury returned guilty verdicts against Paul Castro, Isaiah Castro, and Gonzalo Gonzalez, Jr., for a 2015 gang shooting at the Foods Co. grocery store in Tulare. Paul Castro, age 22, was convicted of three counts of attempted…
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From January 24 through January 26, 2019, members of the Tulare County Human Trafficking Task Force executed multiple sting operations in Visalia, Tulare, and Porterville in an attempt to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking. As a result of the operation, law enforcement arrested five individuals for prostitution and a further five for solicitation.…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Kathryn Montejano sentenced John Lambert, age 37, to 75 years-to-life in prison for sexual assault. On December 7, 2018, Lambert pleaded no contest to forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, and three counts of forcible digital penetration. Each count is a felony and…
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On January 17, 2019, TCDA prosecutors secured parole denials for two defendants serving life sentences in prison. In the first case, parole was denied for Salvador Castro, age 48, at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga for a third strike offense of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On January 31, 1995, Castro…
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Earlier this week, criminal investigators from the District Attorney’s Bureau ofInvestigations served 23 felony arrest warrants on several suspects for allegedly committing welfare fraud in Tulare County. The following individuals were arrested and either cited or booked into the Tulare County Sheriff’s Pre-Trial Facility: -Chris McCarthy, 50, of Porterville -Orlando Orozco, 38, of Porterville -Ines Pompa, 41, of…
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On January 17, 2019, in Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Kathryn Montejano sentenced Macario Cerda, age 39, to 401 years-to-life in prison for numerous violent sex crimes. On December 4, 2018, Cerda was convicted by a jury of crimes against two victims consisting of three counts of forcible rape, one count of kidnapping…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Michael Bradsteen, age 38, for a series of commercial burglaries in numerous Tulare County communities. Bradsteen is charged with 29 felony counts of burglary, grand theft, and vandalism and a further nine misdemeanor counts involving vandalism. The crimes allegedly occurred between November 2018 and January 2019…
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Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian presiding, a jury found Jon Weldon, age 34, guilty of child molestation. Weldon was convicted of two counts of sexual penetration with a child age 10 or younger, and seven counts of lewd act upon a child. Each count is…
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Clemency has been denied for Richard Flowers, age 63, in the killing of a 78-year-old Tulare woman. In 1996, Flowers was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder with a special circumstance of burglary and robbery, but was recommended a sentence commutation in 2018 by the Board of Parole…
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