During the week of August 20, 2018, criminal investigators from the District Attorney’sBureau of Investigations served nine felony arrest warrants on suspects wanted for allegedly committing welfare fraud in Tulare County. The following individuals were arrested and either booked into the Tulare CountySheriff’s Pre-Trial Facility or cited and released for a future court appearance: -Maribel Acosta, 38,…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Carlos Ortiz, 27, for a DUI incident which occurred in Porterville on the afternoon of August 25, 2018. Two victims, one of whom was pregnant, were injured in the crash. Ortiz is charged with felony driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage causing injury, felony…
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Today Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward, along with District Attorneys from Contra Costa, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, and Orange counties, announced that the Visalia Ransacker / East Area Rapist / Golden State Killer case against Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, of Citrus Heights, will be prosecuted jointly in Sacramento County. DeAngelo is currently in custody…
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District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to announce the promotion of career prosecutor Robert Dempsie to the position of Assistant District Attorney. Dempsie, a native of Porterville and a Monache High School graduate, has served with the Office of the District Attorney for 30 years and fills the position left open by the Honorable Kerri…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden presiding, a Tulare County jury found Anthony Myers, age 36, of Tulare, guilty of one count of oral copulation of a minor under the age of ten, one count of attempted oral copulation of a minor under the age of…
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Today Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar and District Attorney Tim Ward announced the filing of murder charges against Joseph DeAngelo, age 72, for the September 11, 1975, murder of College of the Sequoias professor Claude Snelling. DeAngelo is charged with one count of murder with the special allegation that a firearm was used. Numerous other…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Ignacio Villafan, age 52, of Tulare, was sentenced to the Probation Department’s recommendation of 5 years of probation for stealing over $300,000 from his Tulare church. Restitution will be determined at a hearing in October. On March 5, 2018, Villafan pleaded to one felony count…
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On July 31, 2018, at San Quentin State Prison, a California parole board denied parole for Alan Brooks, age 62, for kidnappings and violent sexual assaults in both Tulare and Kings County in 1975. Brooks received a three-year denial and is not scheduled for another hearing until 2021. On September 25, 1975, Brooks approached the…
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On July 24, 2018, at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, a California parole board denied parole for Alfred Estrada, age 62, for a series of violent crimes, including murder, committed in September of 1983. Estrada was given a three- year denial and is not scheduled for another hearing until 2021. On…
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Today in Department 4 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Brett Alldredge sentenced Oscar Moreno, age 69, of Tulare, to 40 years-to-life in prison for child molestation. On June 15, 2018, Moreno pleaded no contest to three counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, one…
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Late in the afternoon on Friday, July 20, 2018, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian presiding, a jury convicted Jesus Jeronimo, age 24, and Angelita Reyes, age 42, both of Bakersfield, of murder. Both were convicted of first-degree murder along with the special circumstances of lying in…
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Today in Department 19 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Antonio Reyes sentenced Ruben Carreles, age 31, of Porterville, to 41 years-to-life in prison for attempted murder and gun crimes. On May 24, 2018, a jury convicted Carreles of pre-meditated and deliberate attempted murder of a peace officer, assault with…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges in a recent drug sale sting coordinated by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville. Alvaro Carranza, age 42, Elizabeth Diaz, age 33, Paul Lara, age 48, Nicholas Miller, age 28, and Hector Gonzalez, age 24, are each charged with one felony count…
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On Friday, July 13, 2018, in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Kathryn Montejano presiding, a jury convicted Naigien Saephan, age 38, of Visalia, of one felony count of driving a stolen vehicle. Saephan possesses a prior strike conviction for arson of an inhabited residence in 1998 and two prior…
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Today in Department 12 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Nathan Ide presiding, a Tulare County jury found Adrian Souza, age 50, of Visalia, guilty of one misdemeanor count of indecent exposure. In the mid-afternoon of March 7, 2018, at a local Visalia middle school, a parent waiting for an after school…
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Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian presiding, a jury found Aaron Rowe, age 28, of Visalia, guilty of the murder and assault of his 47-day-old daughter, Peyton. Rowe was convicted of second- degree murder and assault likely to cause great bodily injury. In the late evening…
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On June 28, 2018, in Department 19 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Antonio Reyes sentenced John Moisa IV, age 26, of Porterville, to 50 years-to-life in prison for murder. On April 6, 2018, a jury convicted Moisa of one count of first-degree premeditated murder with the special allegation of…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Kathryn Montejano presiding, a jury reached a verdict of death for Northern gang member Eric Jimenez, age 33, of Strathmore, following a June 13, 2018, conviction for multiple murders. Jimenez was found guilty of first-degree murder with the special circumstances that the…
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Yesterday at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, a California parole board denied parole for Raphael De La Rosa, age 43, for a 1993 shooting in Cutler. De La Rosa was given a three-year denial and is not scheduled for another hearing until 2021. Around 9 pm on September 6, 1993, a gunman identified as…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Gary Paden sentenced Joseph Baltezor, age 42, of Visalia, to 59 years and 8 months-to- life in prison for child molestation. On April 13, 2018, Baltezor was convicted of 20 counts of lewd act on a child under the age of fourteen,…
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On Tuesday, May 29, 2018, in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian sentenced Wayne House, Jr., of Visalia, to 20 years suspended state prison, one year in jail, and monthly restitution which will be determined at a hearing on June 28. On April 9, 2018, House pleaded no…
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Today in Department 5 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Joseph Kalashian sentenced John Weece, age 60, of Tulare, to 510 years and eight months-to-life in prison for child molestation. On December 20, 2017, a jury found Weece guilty of three counts of sexual intercourse with a minor under the age of…
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Today in Department 3 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Nathan Leedy unsealed a 27 count indictment handed down by a criminal grand jury against father Bruce Greer, age 62, and son Justin Greer, age 37, both of Exeter, for grand theft of cattle and embezzlement. These counts also carry special allegations…
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On May 24, 2018, at Corcoran State Prison, a California parole board denied parole for Alfred Galaz, age 38, for the 1999 murder of a man at a Tulare gas station. Galaz was given a three-year denial and is not scheduled for another hearing until 2021. On January 14, 1999, Galaz and three of his…
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Late yesterday afternoon in Department 19 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, Judge Antonio Reyes presiding, a jury convicted Ruben Carreles, age 31, of Porterville, of pre-meditated and deliberate attempted murder of a peace officer, assault with a firearm on a peace officer, felon in possession of a firearm, and felon…
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