District Attorney Jill Ravitch has announced that defendant Tina Szczepanek, 42-years-old of Lakeport, CA was sentenced today by the Honorable Judge Dana Simonds to 8 years prison for violating her probation.

On August 8, 2018 Defendant David Romesburg entered no contest pleas to felony charges of pimping/pandering, and money laundering, and admitted to having been previously convicted of a strike offense in 1999 for committing statutory rape.

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that her office, in conjunction with 22 other District Attorney’s Offices throughout California, resolved a consumer protection action against Amazon, Inc., (“Amazon”).

District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that defendant Michael Valentine Nichelini, 33, of Petaluma, CA, was denied early parole at his “Youth Offender Parole Hearing,” held pursuant to Senate Bill No. 261 (“SB 261”). The Parole Board denied the early parole for a term of 3 years.

Defendant Milton Orlando Gamez-Fierro was sentenced yesterday to 18 years in state prison to two counts of attempted robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm at a peace officer with the intent to resist arrest. His co-defendant Jesus Gomez-Rosales was also sentenced yesterday to 8 years and 8 months in state prison as a result of his plea to kidnapping and attempted robbery.

Defendant Ethan Rae Aizikovitz, 25 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced yesterday to four years in state prison by the Honorable Robert Laforge after having pled guilty in April of this year to one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while Intoxicated.

Defendant John William Garretson, 36 years old of Sebastopol, was sentenced on Monday, June 4, 2018, by the Honorable Nancy Case Shaffer to three years of probation and 20 days in the county jail with jail alternatives after pleading no contest on April 17, 2018.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced that defendant, Frances Farias (60 years of age), of Sebastopol, California was sentenced on June 5^, 2018 by the Honorable Judge Conger to 4 years of state prison to be served in the California Department of Corrections.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that her office has settled a consumer protection suit brought under California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (also known as “Proposition 65”) against Sonoma Patient Group, Inc.

26-year-old Lety Meza, of Windsor, was sentenced on April 27, 2018 to 6 years in state prison by the Honorable Dana Simonds for felony charges of Child Endangerment and misdemeanor charges of Driving Under the Influence.

Defendant Douglas James Rosado, 50 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced on April 20, 2018 by the Honorable Dana Beernink Simonds to 6 years in state prison after pleading no contest on March 15, 2018 to charges of first degree burglary and felony looting during a state of emergency in Sonoma County.

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.