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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On March 13, 2020, at Centinela State Prison near El Centro, a California parole board issued a 7-year parole denial for Lucio Brito, age 43, for the 1997 stabbing death of a 16-year-old Visalia man. At 1:32 am on October 5, 1997, Visalia Police Department officers were called to Kaweah Delta Hospital regarding a stabbing.…
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Yesterday in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Tulare man John Brown, age 34, was sentenced to life in prison for murder and other violent crimes. On December 23, 2019, Brown pleaded to all charges filed against him – one count of second-degree murder with the special allegation that a deadly…
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This morning in Department 19 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Leonardo Nacoa, age 34, to life in prison for shooting his wife to death and child abuse. On November 25, 2019, a jury found Nacoa guilty of second-degree murder with the special allegations of personal use of…
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This morning, the Office of the District Attorney filed two counts of murder with special circumstances of multiple murders and arson related charges against two 13-year-old minors in the Porterville Library fire incident. The minors denied the charges, remain in custody, and will return to juvenile court on March 11, 2020. By law, no further…
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Statement by District Attorney Tim Ward on the arrest of two juveniles in #Porterville fire incident.
Two Visalia gang members have been found guilty of violent crimes in Visalia and Exeter. Around 4 am on February 23, 2017, using masks to conceal their faces, Vincent Lopez-Prado, 22, and Cesar Raya, 20, entered the home of an Exeter couple and stole firearms and ammunition. The homeowners were asleep when the men entered…
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Last week, criminal investigators from the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigations served 21 felony arrest warrants for suspects wanted for allegedly committing welfare fraud in Tulare County. The following individuals were arrested and either booked into the Tulare County Pre-Trial Facility or cited and released: -Angelica Aceves, 35, of Visalia -Cynthia Hernandez, 22, of…
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For the third straight year as part of National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, the Tulare County Human Trafficking Task Force conducted sting operations and contacts in an effort to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking. The operations were part of a statewide law enforcement human trafficking effort called Operation Reclaim and Rebuild coordinated by…
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On Friday, January 31, 2020, in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, jurors found Eddie Lopez, age 24, guilty of a series of violent crimes against family members. Lopez’s crimes began in Earlimart on November 18, 2018, when he got into an argument with a family member over the…
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Yesterday in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, a jury recommended a sentence of death for Hernan Rodriguez, age 29, 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…
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On January 24, 2020, Criminal Investigators from the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigations Child Abduction Unit recovered a child that was taken by the mother, Samantha Renee Rabago, in violation of a court order. On August 29, 2018, both parents were granted joint legal and physical custody of their son. Rabago later filed for full…
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On January 23, 2020, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Aristeo Sampablo, age 30, to 1,015 years-to-life in prison after being found guilty of 41 counts of child molestation last summer. On July 11, 2019, Sampablo was convicted of six counts of sexual intercourse with a minor…
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On January 15, 2020, at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, a California parole board issued a 5-year parole denial for William Irvin, age 68, for the 1994 sexual assault of a Visalia woman. Between the hours of 6 am and 7 am on April 5, 1994, after her husband left for work, the victim…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Jose Luis Cortez Caballero, age 58, for child molestation. Caballero is charged with eight total felony counts: seven counts of child molestation against one minor female victim and an additional count of child molestation against another minor female victim. It is alleged that the crimes were…
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Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Juliet Boccone sentenced Andres Ybarra, age 35, to life in prison for murder. On September 13, 2019, a jury found Ybarra guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his 26-year-old girlfriend. On the morning of July 1, 2016, the victim was…
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Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Juliet Boccone sentenced Paul Brian Ward, age 43, to life in prison for the attempted murder a Visalia Police Department officer in 2017. On November 25, 2019, a jury found Ward guilty of attempted murder of a police officer, assault on a…
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On December 19, 2019, at the Sierra Conservation Center near Jamestown, a California parole board denied parole for Alfred Galaz, age 40, for the 1999 murder of a man at a Tulare gas station. Galaz was given a three-year denial. On January 14, 1999, Galaz and three of his friends drove to a gas station…
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District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to announce the promotion of three Tulare County prosecutors to the position of Supervising Deputy District Attorney. Trevor Holly has been a prosecutor in the Office of the District Attorney since 2004. A native of Porterville and a graduate of Porterville High School, Holly graduated from California State University,…
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On December 13, 2019, in Department 1 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Melinda Reed presiding, a jury found Randy Scroggins, age 44, guilty of attempting to kill his wife. Scroggins was convicted of attempted murder, assault with a firearm, domestic violence, and being felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.…
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Today in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Michael Sheltzer sentenced Harry Sprague, age 77, to 64 years-to-life in prison for the 2017 attempted murder of two people at a Porterville mobile home park. On November 8, 2019, a jury found Sprague to be sane during the commission…
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On Wednesday, December 4, 2019, TCDA prosecutors secured the parole denials of two inmates currently serving life sentences for murder. The Office of the District Attorney regularly attends such hearings and argued against these inmates’ potential release. At California State Prison Solano, a parole board issued a 5-year denial for Ernest Malone, age 59, for…
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On December 3, 2019, at the California Institution for Women in Corona, a California parole board issued a three-year denial for June Gravlee, age 65, for the 1987 murder of her husband. In 1990, Gravlee was convicted of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of murder for financial gain. In the penalty phase of the…
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On November 25, 2019, in Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Juliet Boccone presiding, a jury found Paul Brian Ward, age 43, guilty of attempted murder of a police officer, assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, attempted weapon removal, assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, attempted criminal threats, misdemeanor battery…
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