Sonora, California – On Monday, April 30, 2018, Jacob Arturo Spiller pled guilty to five felony charges stemming from an altercation that occurred on February 12, 2018. Based on the police reports from the investigation, on that date Spiller was arguing with his mother when he chased her into her bedroom. She fled to her bathroom where she attempted to call for help by opening a window. Spiller then grabbed his mother by the hair and strangled her to near unconsciousness. He proceeded to throw her on a bed and told her “I am going to take a hammer and hit you in the head until your warm blood sprays all over me and the walls and bury you in the back yard.” Later he told her “If you call the cops I’m going to hit you until you are almost dead, then set fire to your house with you and your dog inside.” His mother then fled the house to her vehicle and was driving away when the defendant picked up a splitting maul and waved it around yelling for her not to call the police. Spiller was arrested several days later and was charged with one count of Elder Abuse, False Imprisonment of an Elder Adult, two counts of Dissuading a Witness with Force or Violence and one count of Criminal Threats. Spiller had previously been convicted of several strike offenses including an assault on his mother in 1999, where she suffered great bodily injury, and a robbery in 2007. As part of his plea agreement the defendant pled guilty to all his charges and admitted a prior strike. On June 11, 2018 he will be sentenced by Judge Donald Segerstrom to 25 years, 4 months in state prison. He will be eligible for release after serving 80% of that time.
For more information, contact Assistant District Attorney Eric Hovatter at 209-588-5450.
