On September 3, 2025, in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against James Myron Mitchell, age 23, of Tipton, for first-degree murder. Shortly before 2 am on July 13, 2023, at a residence in Tulare, Mitchell shot the adult male victim with a…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges related to a shooting in downtown Visalia that occurred early Saturday morning of September 6, 2025, that left an adult victim dead and another wounded. Raymond Vasquez, age 20, is charged with murder with the special allegation of intentional use of a firearm causing great bodily injury.…
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At a hearing on August 22, 2025, a California parole board issued a 3-year denial of parole for Patricia Leal, age 48, in the 1997 murder of her newborn baby. Leal is currently serving her sentence at the California Institution for Women in Corona. On October 7, 1997, Leal gave birth to a baby in…
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In a miss-match of prioritization by California lawmakers, Proposition 36 drug treatment and implementation funding will amount to less than half of what is needed to proceed with a special election regarding congressional districts. “When legislators passed Governor Newsom’s budget over the summer, a one-time $100 million allocation was made to fund multiple elements of…
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On July 30, 2025, California parole commissioners issued a 5-year denial of parole for Benigno Sanchez, age 50, for the vicious 1992 murders of an elderly couple in their home and the beating of another elderly man days later. Sanchez is currently incarcerated at Kern Valley State Prison. Late at night on Easter Sunday April…
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In a court trial verdict on August 13, 2025, in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court found Jose Martinez-Delgadillo, age 42, of Farmersville, guilty of lewd acts with a child and other crimes. The court convicted Martinez-Delgadillo of seven counts of lewd act upon a child under the age…
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Despite objections from TCDA prosecutors, today at a virtual hearing a California parole board found Donna Andrews, age 71, suitable for parole. Andrews has been incarcerated since 2006 after being found guilty of attempted murder and assault with a firearm. She is currently serving her sentence at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. In…
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A Tulare County Superior Court judge has reduced the sentence of a 16-year-old minor who admitted to the 2023 murder of Orosi teacher Sergio Martin. On July 16, 2025, in Department 21 of the South County Justice Center, the court reduced the minor’s sentence by two months, citing positive behavior toward rehabilitation outlined in Welfare…
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Today in Department 3 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Blake Benham, age 44, of Dinuba, was sentenced to 23 years and 8 months in prison for a DUI crash that killed two women and severely injured two others. At approximately 6:18 pm on December 3, 2023, Benham, driving a Ford F-150, collided with a…
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Yesterday in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court completed the sentencing of two Visalia men involved in the 2020 death of a man at local motel. On the morning of January 8, 2021, Visalia Police Department officers were called to a motel for a report of a man lying down in…
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Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Francisco Javier Valdivia, age 44, for the 2016 murder of Cecilia Bravo Cabrera. Valdivia and Cabrera were married in Fresno in 2008. Despite the marriage, the pair did not live together and did not have children, as several…
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Today in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, the court sentenced Samuel Camposeco, age 29, to 50 years to life in prison for the 2017 attempted murder of a police officer in Dinuba during a robbery. On January 5, 2017, Camposeco and Luis Vargas, both armed with semi-automatic weapons, entered the Texaco gas…
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At a virtual hearing on June 24, 2025, TCDA prosecutors secured a 3-year denial of parole for Angel Garcia, age 44, for the murder of a man in Cutler in 1999. Garcia is currently serving a life sentence at Salinas Valley State Prison. On December 1, 1999, Tulare County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the…
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At a virtual hearing on June 25, 2025, TCDA prosecutors secured a 3-year denial of parole for Gary Brasuell, age 51, for the beating and murder of a 67-year-old man in 1995. Brassuell is currently serving a life sentence at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione. Brasuell sometimes stayed with the victim at his Exeter…
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On May 29, 2025, via video conference, TCDA prosecutors secured a 3 year denial of parole for Harry Bodine, age 79, of Visalia. Bodine has been incarcerated since 1992 for the attempted murder of a now retired Tulare County Superior Court judge. Bodine is currently housed at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton. On…
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On June 3, 2025, in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against gang member Samuel Camposeco, age 29, for the 2017 attempted murder of a police officer in Dinuba during a robbery. On January 5, 2017, Camposeco and Luis Vargas, both armed with semi-automatic weapons,…
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Today in Department 17 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Erika Sandoval, age 38, of Visalia, to 50 years to life in prison for the premeditated first-degree murder of her ex-husband, former Exeter police officer Daniel Green. Sandoval’s first trial in 2019 ended in a hung jury. Her…
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Proposition 36, overwhelmingly passed by voters in November 2024, is operating as intended with real results, particularly here in Tulare County, but California Governor Gavin Newsom’s May budget revision fails to fund treatment programs necessary to the goals of the law. Currently, the Office of the District Attorney has filed felony charges in 97…
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Late in the afternoon of Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, a Tulare County jury found Serafin Narciso, age 44, guilty of one count of assault with the intent to commit a lewd act upon a child during the commission of a first-degree burglary, two counts…
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District Attorney Tim Ward has announced the filing of criminal charges against Noah Serrate, 19, for an attack on a student at Monache High School in Porterville. It is alleged that during the morning of May 19, 2025, Serrate entered a second-floor classroom armed with a knife and attacked a student before fleeing. Contrary to…
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Yesterday in Fresno County, former Visalia resident Nickey Duane Stane, age 58, pleaded guilty to the 1996 murder of Fresno State student Debbie Dorian and the sexual assaults of multiple women in Visalia from 1999 to 2002. In 2009, with the assistance of the Visalia Police Department, TCDA prosecutors filed a “John Doe” complaint against…
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A Tulare County jury has found Erika Sandoval, age 38, guilty of the February 2015 first-degree shooting death of her ex-husband, former Exeter police officer Daniel Green in his Goshen home. Sandoval was found guilty of first-degree murder with the special allegations that she personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury. The…
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Today in Department 22 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Alicia Espinoza, age 27, to life in prison for murder. In the afternoon of November 1, 2020, Tulare Police Department Officers responded to the report of a deceased male at his residence. The victim, who was in a…
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On April 29, 2025, in Department 10 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, TCDA prosecutors secured a conviction against Justin Mills, age 36, for child molestation. Mills was found guilty on 6 felony counts of lewd act upon a child under the age of 14. The jury also found true that some of…
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The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office will be holding a public meeting on May 22, 2025, to discuss the AB 481 Annual Military Equipment Report and its funding, acquisition, and/or use of military equipment as defined by the bill. The meeting will be held from 9 am to 10 am. Location: Tulare County District Attorney’s…
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