Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on June 21, 2024, Sonora resident Cheryl “Jill” Delaney-Rizzo was sentenced to 12 years plus 25 years to life in state prison. This sentence follows a five-day jury trial where Ms. Delaney-Rizzo was found guilty of First Degree Residential Burglary and Grand Theft of an Elder. Also found true where allegations related to Ms. Delaney-Rizzo’s prior record as well as an enhancement that the victim in the case was over the age of 65.
In May of 2022, Ms. Delaney-Rizzo took advantage of a position of trust when a friend, the victim, asked her to house sit her property while she was out of town. The victim left specific instructions and gave Ms. Delaney-Rizzo and her boyfriend limited access to her main home. Upon returning from vacation, the victim found her house had been rifled through and she was missing multiple items including gold coins, jewelry, and a speaker all totaling approximately $10,000. During the course of the trial, evidence was presented that Ms. Delaney-Rizzo texted a witness prior to his testimony in an effort to influence that testimony. It was also revealed that the defendant had attempted to cash fraudulent checks from the victim’s bank account approximately 10 years prior but because the victim did not lose any money, she chose not to press charges and to forgive Ms. Delaney-Rizzo.
Ms. Delaney-Rizzo qualified under the “Three Strikes Law” as she had a prior strike for First Degree Residential Burglary and another prior strike for Intimidating a Witness. The First Degree Residential Burglary in this case counted as her third strike qualifying her for 25 years to life for that count.
At the sentencing hearing, the victim gave a powerful impact statement noting that while Ms. Delaney-Rizzo's betrayal without any remorse violated her trust, she would not let Ms. Delaney-Rizzo take away her ability to trust others. In sentencing Ms. Delaney-Rizzo to the maximum sentence, the Honorable Judge Laura L. Krieg noted the defendant’s multiple prior convictions for elder abuse related offenses. The defendant’s history and current convictions demonstrated to Judge Krieg a “disturbing trend” of taking advantage of the most vulnerable “over and over and over again.”
The case was prosecuted by now retired Assistant District Attorney Eric Hovatter. For more information, contact Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Novelli at (209) 588-5450.
