District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that on April 10, 2018, the California Board of Prison Terms denied parole to 29-year-old Eddie Menefee, who was convicted in 2006 of torture and sexual assault of John Doe, a 15-year-old boy. Menefee who was 16 at the time was prosecuted as an adult.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch has announced that on April 10, 2018, the California Board of Prison Terms denied parole for the 16^TH time to 70 year old Manuel Avalos Flores, who was convicted of the 2^nd degree murder of 23 year old Ricoberto Arroyo in 1981.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch has announced that Salvador Flores, Jr., 19 years-old of Santa Rosa, and Gustavo Alex Castillo, 25 years-old of Santa Rosa, each entered no contest pleas to charges of gang-related attempted murder. Each defendant also admitted to personally using a firearm during the crime. Flores and Castillo are active participants in the Puro Sureno Cholo (PSC) subset of the Sureño criminal street gang.

Defendant Mary Katherine David, 38 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced yesterday by the Honorable Patrick Broderick to serve six months in county jail, and 48 months on formal probation after having pled no contest in January to grand theft and forgery charges.

Defendant Daniel Broin, 57 years old of Napa, was sentenced on Wednesday March 21st by the Honorable Judge Averill to serve two years in prison after having been convicted by a jury in January of embezzling over $100,000 from the Finnish American Home Association (FAHA).

District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that on March 23, 2018, the California Board of Prison Terms denied parole for the sixth time to 57 year old Gary Allen Moore, who was convicted of the 2^nd degree murder of a 23 month old child in 1990. 

Defendant Paul Dwayne Kilgore, 70 years old of Sonoma, was found guilty yesterday by a Sonoma county jury of six counts of child molestation following a three week trial. The jury also found true an allegation that Kilgore had committed these offenses against multiple victims, who were all under the age of fourteen years old.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch has announced that her office, with 24 other District Attorney’s Offices in California, settled an environmental and consumer protection action against Costco Wholesale Corporation, Inc. and JBR, Inc.

On November 8, 2016, California voters passed Proposition 64, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act. The Act legalizes the adult use of Cannabis and establishes regulations that will control and oversee the Cannabis industry. 

Defendant Tawnya Hopper, 44 years old of Petaluma, was sentenced today to a prison term of 25 years-to-life by the Honorable Jamie Thistlethwaite after having pled no contest in July of last year to a violation of Penal Code section 288.7(a), sexual intercourse by an adult with a child under the age of ten.

The Contractors State License Board (CSLB) and Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office urge survivors of the North Bay wildfires to remain alert as they search for a contractor to assist them in the rebuilding process.

Defendant Mary Katherine David, 37 years old of Santa Rosa, pled no contest before the Honorable Patrick Broderick on January 26, 2018, to one count of felony grand theft and three counts of felony forgery.

January is designated as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The annual event has been recognized since January 2010 in an effort to bring attention to the epidemic of human trafficking in this country.

Defendant Ivan Morales was convicted today by a jury of premeditated attempted murder of an armored car guard, robbery of an armored car guard, assault with an assault rifle, assault on a police officer and driving a stolen vehicle. Defendant Sergey Gutsu had previously pleaded guilty to premeditated attempted murder of an armored car guard, robbery of an armored car guard, premeditated attempted murder of a police officer and driving a stolen vehicle. 

47-year-old Joel Miranda Rivas, of Santa Rosa, was sentenced on Monday to 6 years in state prison, the maximum allowed by law, for a felony charge of Driving Under the Influence. Rivas has 10 prior convictions for Driving Under the Influence, 4 of which were also felony offenses. This will be Rivas’s fourth commitment to state prison for Driving under the Influence.

Sonoma County residents of scams involving fraudulently filed applications for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance. The Napa and Sonoma County District Attorney’s Offices received several reports from residents whose personal identifying information, including their social security numbers, had been used to file a fraudulent FEMA application

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch today announced that she is working jointly with California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, and Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley, to insure that the citizens of Sonoma and Napa County who have suffered from the devastating North Bay Wildfire are not further victimized by price gouging in violation of Penal Code section 396, the State’s anti-price gouging law.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch today issued a consumer alert on reports of price gouging by businesses, including hotels and landlords, during the devastating wildfires that have swept through Sonoma County and the North Bay. District Attorney Ravitch reminds all Sonoma County residents and businesses that price gouging during a state of emergency is illegal under Penal Code Section 396, and her office will investigate and prosecute those that attempt to wrongfully profit from the destructive fires.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced that defendant Victor Silva, 29-years-old from Marin County, entered no contest pleas today to first degree murder and home invasion robbery while armed with a firearm for the 2015 murder of Olga Dinelli, an 84 year old resident of Penngrove.

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that her office, in conjunction with 23 other District Attorney’s Offices throughout California, resolved a consumer protection action against Overstock.com, Inc.

Defendant Brandi Dominique Ely, 40 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today by the Honorable Jamie Thistlethwaite to 2 years 8 months in state prison after pleading no contest on June 20, 2017.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that on September 6, 2017, the California Board of Prison Terms denied parole to 51 year old Gregory Todd Weiss, who was convicted of the attempted 1st degree murder, with the personal use of a firearm, of a mother of two in 1987

Defendant Alexander William Parlato, 30 years old of Novato, was sentenced earlier today to serve 22 years in state prison after having pled “no contest” in April of this year to charges of sexually and physically assaulting his former girlfriend.

Defendant Stephen Paul Zimmerman, 63 years old of Santa Rosa, was convicted yesterday by a Sonoma County jury of indecent exposure.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch has announced that defendant Pablo Salinas-Jacobo, 35, of Santa Rosa was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for a conviction of Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated, with two prior Driving Under the Influence convictions. The charges stemmed from a fatal collision on Los Amigos Road on November 8, 2015. 

Defendant Sandra Suzanne Turner, 65 years old of Cloverdale, was sentenced earlier today by the Honorable Robert LaForge to serve 3 years, 8 months in state prison after having entered “no contest” pleas in June of this year to one count of felony grand theft, and two counts of felony forgery. 

District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that Kenneth C. Wilson, individually and dba Wilson Vineyards and Winery agreed to a Stipulated Judgment, approved and ordered by Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Allan D. Hardcastle, requiring Wilson to pay $50,000 in penalties and $6,648.88 in response costs for violating state and local open burn regulations.

Defendant Ruth Kathryn Fielding, 64 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced on July 25, 2017 by the Honorable Jamie Thistlethwaite to 6 years in state prison after pleading no contest on June 7, 2017.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch has announced that over 100 homeless victims of crime have been provided services through the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT), which launched in March 2017.

Defendant Tawnya Hopper, 43 years old of Petaluma, entered a no contest plea yesterday to a charge of violating of Penal Code section 288.7(a), sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10.

Defendant Ulises Sandoval-Rivera, 31 years old of Santa Rosa, pleaded no contest in front of the Honorable Dana Simmonds earlier today to charges of possessing heroin for sale within 1,000 feet of an elementary school while classes were in session.

Defendant Artemio Sandoval-Rivera, 27 years old of Santa Rosa, pleaded no contest today in front of the Honorable Dana Simmonds to a charge of Possession of Methamphetamine for Sale and a sentencing enhancement alleging that he was in possession of more than 1 kilogram of the drug.

Jose Alberto Corado-Merlos, 34 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today by the Honorable Elliot Daum to 17 years, 4 months, plus 15 years to life in prison for aggravated sexual assault of a child.