News Flash

Juan Penuelas Sentenced to 14 years 4 months State Prison After Jury Convicts of Domestic Violence

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on October 20, 2025, 45-year-old Sonora resident Juan Manuel Penuelas was sentenced to 14 years 4 months State Prison after a jury convicted him of multiple offenses.

On May 12, 2025,...

District Attorney’s Office DUI Prosecution Unit Announces Grant Year End Statistics

Sonora, Calif. – Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office announced today the filing and conviction statistics for the first year of their DUI Prosecution Unit. The DUI Prosecution Unit was created in October 2024, and funded by a gr...

Survivor Stands Up to Child Molester

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced that on October 22, 2025, the Honorable Judge David C. Beyersdorf sentenced 32-year-old Ricardo Ceron to 6 years in state prison.  The sentence comes after a jury found Mr. Ceron guilt...

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September 19, 2025 

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** 

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Tuolumne County, CA – In an...

David Sean Johnson Sentenced to 24 Years State Prison After Jury Convictions

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on September 15, 2025, David Sean Johnson of Sonora was sentenced to a total of 24 years in State Prison. The sentence derives from three separate felony cases.

On May 2, 2025, a Tuol...

Modesto Man Sentenced to 7 Years State Prison for Possession of 902 Grams of Fentanyl

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced that on August 4, 2025, Samuel Westphal, a 35 year old resident of Modesto, was sentenced to 7 years in State Prison. The sentence comes after Mr. Westphal pled guilty to Possession of a Contro...

Fentanyl Dealer Stacey Christ Sentenced to State Prison for Death of RJ Bennett

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on August 1, 2025, Stacey Christ was sentenced to a total of 13 years in State Prison.

Richard “RJ” Bennett II was found deceased from acute fentanyl poisoning on ...

Employees Who Embezzled Nearly $600,000 from Local Family Business Sentenced to 5 years in Prison

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on July 22, 2025, the Honorable Judge Robert B. Westbrook, a Stanislaus County Superior Court judge handling these cases on assignment, sentenced 68-year-old Shirley Eckhart of Grove...

Road Rage Stabbing Assailant Sentenced to 11 Years State Prison

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on July 10, 2025, the Honorable Judge Hallie Gorman Campbell sentenced 42-year-old Jeffrey Goldstein of Twain Harte to a total of 11 years in state prison.  His sentence com...

Gino Corsi Sentenced to 11 years 4 months State Prison

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on Monday, June 16, 2025, Gino Corsi was sentenced to 11 years 4 months State Prison. On May 20, 2025, Mr. Corsi pled guilty to the sale of cocaine, possession of methamphetamine for...

Repeat DUI Offender Sentenced to State Prison

Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office announced today that on May 12, 2025, Brad Leon McIver of Jamestown was sentenced to 4 years state prison for driving under the influence of alcohol after a prior felony driving under the influence conv...

Cheryl Porter Convicted at Trial of Driving Under the Influence of a Drug

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on May 20, 2025, after a two-day trial, a jury found Cheryl Ann Porter guilty of Driving Under the Influence of a Drug. That same day after the jury returned the guilty verdict, the ...

Rapist Sentenced to 7 Years State Prison

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on May 6, 2025, the Honorable Judge Douglas C. Boyack sentenced 20-year-old Jared Dakota Guin to a total of 7 years in state prison.  His sentence comes after a jury found M...

Michael Guerrero Sentenced to 12 Years Prison After Jury Finds Him Guilty of Stalking

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on April 28, 2025, the Honorable Judge Laura L. Krieg sentenced Michael Guerrero of Modesto to the maximum allowable sentence which was 12 years in State Prison. His sentence comes a...

Repeat Violent Offender Sentenced to 21 Years 8 Months Plus 50 Years to Life for Domestic Violence

Sonora, California –– Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on April 30, 2025, the Honorable Judge David C. Beyersdorf sentenced Rickey Faught to the maximum allowable sentence which was 21 years 8 mo...

Loren Mears Denied Parole in Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated Case

     Today, District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced that on March 5, 2025, Loren Mears, formerly of Sonora, was denied parole for three years from 2017 conviction and 15-years-to-life sentence for Vehicular Manslaughter Wh...

Corey Craddock Sentenced to 7 Years State Prison

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced that on April 21, 2025, Corey Craddock, 20 years old of Calaveras County, was sentenced to 7 years State Prison. Mr. Craddock was sentenced after pleading guilty to Possession for Fentanyl for ...

Services at District Attorney's Office Disrupted by Vehicle Accident

Sonora, CA - District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that access to the Tuolumne County District Attorney's Office will be limited until early next week due to utility outages at the 423 North Washington Street location. 

On F...

District Attorney’s Office DUI Prosecution Unit Announces Second Quarter Statistics

Sonora, Calif. – Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office announced today the filing and conviction statistics for the second quarter of their DUI Prosecution Unit. The DUI Prosecution Unit was created in October 2024, and funded by ...

DUI Prosecution Unit Charges 100+ DUIs In The First 84 Days Of 2025

Sonora, Calif. – Tuolumne County District Attorney announced that as of March 25, 2025, the DUI Prosecution Unit had charged 105 cases involving DUI offenses in 2025, averaging more than one per day.  

While the actual numbers for prior ...

Francisco Hernandez Sentenced to 11 years 4 months State Prison related to Domestic Violence

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced that on March 13, 2025, Francisco Hernandez, a resident of Sonora, was sentenced to 11 years and 4 months in State Prison. This came after Mr. Hernandez pled guilty on January 30, 2025, to Infl...

Drug Dealer Derek Estes Sentenced to 10 Years State Prison

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on February 18, 2025, Derek Estes of Jamestown, California was sentenced to 10 years State Prison. On January 21, 2025, Mr. Estes pled guilty to possession of fentanyl for sale, admi...

Misdemeanor Child Abuse and Battery Charges Filed in Sonora Elementary School Incident

Today, Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced that charges were filed against 50-year-old Mary McGrew of Sonora for a misdemeanor violation of Penal Code section 273a(b), Child Abuse, and a misdemeanor violation of Penal Code sectio...

James Owsley Sent to Prison for Drug and Gun Convictions

Sonora, California –– Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on January 14, 2025, James Owsley were sentenced to 5 years 4 months State Prison. Mr. Owsley was sentenced after pleading guilty to Felon in Possession of a Fi...

Jon Olson Charged in DUI Crash Involving TCSO Deputy

Sonora, Calif. – Tuolumne County District Attorney announced that on January 29, 2025, the Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against Jon Olson of Jamestown following a collision with Tuolumne County Sheriff Deputy Andrew Munoz that ...

Juvenile Offenders Charged in Jamestown Assault

Today, Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced that juvenile delinquency petitions were filed against two minor co-offenders related to the assault of a 24-year-old man in Jamestown, CA, on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. The 13-year-old ...

District Attorney’s Office DUI Prosecution Unit Announces First Quarter Statistics

Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office announced today the filing and conviction statistics for the first quarter of their DUI Prosecution Unit. The DUI Prosecution Unit was created in October 2024, and funded by a grant provided by the Cali...

Inmate Robert Ransom Charged in Sexual Assault of CDCR Correctional Officer

Sonora, CA – Tuolumne County District Attorney announced that on January 7, 2025, the Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Inmate Robert Laweran...

Tammi Truschke Sentenced to 5 + 30 years to life in State Prison for Second Degree Murder

Sonora, California –– Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on December 30, 2024, the DUI recidivist Tammi Lee Ann Truschke was sentenced to 5 years + 30 year to life in state prison for the DUI murde...

Prison Inmate Senteced to 6 + 45 years to life for Murder at SCC

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on January 7, 2025, the Honorable Judge Kevin Seibert sentenced Prison Inmate Carlos Hernandez to 6 years plus 45 years to life in addition to other sentences he is currently serving...

Fentanyl Dealer Stacey Christ Charged With Murder

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on December 23, 2024, the Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office filed charges of murder against Stacey Christ. Richard Bennett II was found deceased on the morning of ...

Prison Inmate Carlos Hernandez Convicted of 2nd Degree Murder

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on December 12, 2024, a jury convicted Prison Inmate Carlos Hernandez of Second-Degree Murder and found true the special allegation that he personally used a deadly weapon in committ...

Drug Dealer Daniel Curtis Sent to Prison

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on October 21, 2024, Daniel Curtis was sentenced to a total of 6 years 8 months State Prison after pleading guilty to Maintaining a Place for Selling or Using Controlled Substances, ...

Tammi Truschke Convicted of Murder in DUI Homicide of James Kenyon Jr.

Sonora, CA - District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on November 20, 2024, a jury found Tammi Lee Ann Truschke guilty of second degree murder, driving under the influence causing injury, driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08%...

Cheryl Delaney-Rizzo Sentenced to 12 + 25 Years to Life After Jury Finds Her Guilty of Theft Crimes

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 ju...

Joshua Gagen Sentenced to Max Prison Term for Assault on Sheriff's Deputy

Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on June 13, 2024, 48-year-old Sonora resident Joshua Gagen was sentenced to the maximum possible sentence of 6 years 4 months in State Prison.

The sentence comes after Mr. Gagen pled ...

Christopher Jacobs Charged in Jamestown Assault; One Juvenile's Petition Amended

Today, Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced that a criminal complaint was filed against Christopher Mark Jacobs, age 44 of Jamestown, CA, related to the assault of a 24-year-old man in Jamestown, CA, on Tuesday, January 28, 2025.&...