District Attorney Jill Ravitch has announced that Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Shelly Averill sentenced Tirso Dejesus Guzman to the maximum prison term of 90 years to life for raping three women in 2019. On October 25, 2021 a jury found Guzman guilty of 11 counts of sexually assaulting the three women.

The Sonoma County District Attorney will have a specialized prosecution team that handles alcohol and drug-impaired driving cases through a $325,298 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS).

Defendant Salvador Moreno-Botello, 40 years old from Santa Rosa, was sentenced Thursday by the Honorable Peter Ottenweller to serve three years in state prison. On October 18 of this year, a jury found him guilty of driving while intoxicated and driving with a.08% or higher blood alcohol content.

Defendant Joshua Cargile, 44 years old of Rohnert Park, was sentenced today by the Honorable Robert LaForge to serve six years in state prison for felony possession of a firearm by a felon, and felony possession of an unlawful assault weapon.

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch today announced that her office, together with the District Attorneys of Alameda, Los Angeles, and Napa Counties, settled a consumer protection lawsuit against Yeezy Apparel LLC and Yeezy LLC, California companies engaged in the online sales of sneakers and clothing.

Defendant Juan Lucas-Antonio, 38 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced yesterday afternoon by the Honorable Christopher Honigsberg to serve 36 years in state prison after pleading “no contest” in June of this year to felony charges of committing forcible lewd and lascivious acts upon minors under the age of 14 years old. 

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch today announced that her office, in conjunction with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and multiple District Attorneys throughout the state, obtained a multimillion-dollar stipulated judgment against Pong Game Studios Corporation (Pong).

Earlier today, after an approximately 5-week long trial, a Sonoma County jury found Tirso Dejesus Guzman, 28 years old of Santa Rosa, guilty as charged of 11 Counts of sexually assaulting three women in the summer of 2019.

Defendant Edgar Ortega-Aguilar, 39 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today by the Honorable Robert Laforge to serve 16 years, 4 months at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation after pleading no contest in August of this year to charges of felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell.

Defendant James Edward Canada Sr., 57 years old of Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park, was sentenced today by the Honorable Robert LaForge to serve 24 years and 8 months in state prison after pleading no contest to multiple felony charges in September of this year.

Jesse Boatman, 42 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced earlier today by the Honorable Robert LaForge to serve 12 years and 4 months in state prison after pleading “no contest” in June of this year to felony charges of stalking and making criminal threats

Jesse Boatman, 42 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced earlier today by the Honorable Robert LaForge to serve 12 years and 4 months in state prison after pleading “no contest” in June of this year to felony charges of stalking and making criminal threats

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch has selected Richard Celli as the new Chief of the Investigations Bureau at the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.

Defendant Larry Thomas Rhoades, 69 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced earlier today by the Honorable Peter Ottenweller to serve a prison term of 12 years plus an additional indeterminate sentence of 15 years to life, after pleading “no contest” in June to 25 felony counts of child sexual assault.  

District Attorney Jill Ravitch has announced that Johnny Lee Sommerhalder, 78years old of Santa Rosa, has been denied parole by the California Board of Parole Hearings.

Defendant Jesus Paniagua-Rojas, 51 years old of Santa Rosa, was found guilty Wednesday afternoon by a Sonoma County jury of committing 18 felony sex offenses against two children from 2014 to 2018.

Defendant Albert Meredith, 27 years old of Cazadero, was sentenced today by the Honorable Mark Urioste to serve 14 years and 8 months in state prison after pleading no contest in May to charges of physically abusing his newborn daughter, and sexually molesting the baby’s 4-year-old half-sister.

California state prison Inmate Kelly Mclaughlin-Cross (60 years old, formerly of Sonoma County) was denied “Elder Parole” by the State Board of Parole Commissioners during a Tuesday afternoon hearing. Commissioners Ground and Lam ruled that McLaughlin-Cross would not be eligible to reapply for parole for an additional 5 years.

Today Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced that her office, with 22 other District Attorney’s Offices in California, resolved “greenwashing” cases with Chewy, Inc., PetSmart LLC, Petco Animal Supplies, Inc., and Target Corporation.  

Defendant William Boyle, 52-years-old of Windsor, was found “guilty” by the Honorable Paul Lozada of all charged offenses on Thursday following an almost month-long court trial at the Sonoma County Courthouse.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that on August 3, 2021, the California Board of Prison Terms denied parole to Mario Gaburel, 51-years-old of Santa Rosa, who was convicted of the attempted murder of four young persons in 1997.

Jeremy Finnerty, 49 years old of Santa Rosa, appeared today for sentencing before the Honorable Shelly J. Averill in Sonoma County Superior Court following his May 28, 2021, convictions by a jury for felony brandishing a firearm at a motor vehicle, felony vandalism, and misdemeanor resisting a police officer.

Defendant Jose Torres Leveron, 27 years old of Santa Rosa, was ordered to pay $177,112 in restitution following a Wednesday morning hearing in front of the Honorable Troye Shaffer at the Sonoma County Courthouse.

Defendant David Christopher Cook, 55 years old of Sonoma, was sentenced today by the Honorable Robert LaForge to serve 6 years in state prison after pleading “no contest” in April of this year to a felony charge of committing “lewd and lascivious” acts with a child under the age of 14 years old.

Defendant Rusiate Waqa, 25 years old of Santa Rosa, was found guilty yesterday by a Sonoma County jury for the forcible rape and aggravated kidnapping of Jane Doe committed on August 16, 2019 in Santa Rosa’s Howarth Park. Following the two-week trial, the jury deliberated approximately 15 minutes before returning their verdict.

Defendant Josimar Ortiz-Ortiz, 29 years old from Windsor, was sentenced Monday, July 26 by the Honorable Peter Ottenweller to serve 15 years to life in state prison. 

Defendant Pablo Cardenas Estrada, 62 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today by the Honorable Robert Laforge to serve 30 years-to-life in state prison after he entered no contest pleas in May of this year to six charges of felony child molestation.

Defendant Fernando Aguilera, 33 of Santa Rosa, CA was convicted on Friday July 2, 2021 of Second-Degree Murder for the death of Rosa Lua, 47, of Windsor, on March 20, 2019, along with additional charges of Gross Vehicular Manslaughter while Intoxicated, and Driving Under the Influence Causing Injury, following a jury trial before the Honorable Mark Urioste. 

The District Attorney’s Office has received inquiries regarding a flyer that has circulated concerning a child abuse investigation.  In an effort to provide clarity on the issue, the following facts can be shared. 

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced that in FY 2020/2021, her Environmental and Consumer Law Division (“ECLD”) collected over $1.2 million for the County of Sonoma in civil judgments against businesses that violated state and local environmental and consumer protection laws. The civil judgments, all approved by the Superior Court, included monies collected for civil penalties and reimbursement of costs of investigation and prosecution.

After less than three hours of deliberations, a Sonoma County jury found defendant Josimar Ortiz-Ortiz, 29 years old of Windsor, guilty of second-degree murder on Monday afternoon for his actions in October of 2018 when he killed another man by colliding headon with the victim’s vehicle while driving intoxicated on Old Redwood Highw

Defendant Thomas Alejandro Martinez, 23 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today to serve 20 years in state prison by the Honorable Christopher Honigsberg after pleading “no contest” to charges of attempted murder in April of this year.

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch has announced a consumer protection settlement in a civil action against former MoviePass executives Theodore Farnsworth and Mitchell Lowe for engaging in numerous unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business acts and practices while overseeing the operations of the now defunct movie theater subscription service. 

A jury of six women and six men deliberated for three hours today before finding Jeremy Finnerty, 49 years old of Santa Rosa, guilty of felony brandishing a firearm at a motor vehicle, felony vandalism, and misdemeanor resisting a police officer following a week-plus jury trial before the Honorable Shelly J. Averill in Sonoma County Superior Court.

Defendant William Brown, 41 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today by the Honorable Robert Laforge to serve twenty years in state prison after pleading “no contest” in February to three felony sex offenses, including the rape of a child victim, who was under the age of 14.

Defendant Daniel Novello Irving, 68 years old of Chico, was sentenced earlier today by the Honorable Christopher Honigsberg to serve one year in county jail and three years on formal probation after pleading “no contest” in March of this year to felony charges of threatening and stalking his elderly brother over a period of nine months.

Defendant Michael Sean Phillips, 52 years old of Santa Rosa, pleaded “no contest” Monday to various felony charges of sexual assault, with an enhancement for the victim being above the age of 65.

Defendant Benjamin Meza-Perez, 41 years old of Petaluma, was sentenced today to serve 18 years in state prison by the Honorable Dana Simonds following pleas of “no contest” in January of this year to three felony counts of lewd acts with a minor under 14, and one felony count of dissuading a witness.  

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced a consumer protection False Advertising Law settlement in a civil action against Cannacraft, Inc. Cannacraft is a licensed cultivator and manufacturer of cannabis products based in Sonoma County, and does business in California's legal cannabis market. Under the terms of the stipulated judgment, Cannacraft will pay $250,000 in civil penalties $25,000 in cy pres restitution, and $25,000 in investigative costs. Cannacraft also agreed to be bound by an injunction for 10 years. The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office reached the settlement as a member of the California Food, Drug, and Medical Device Task Force ("Task Force"), which also includes Alameda, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta and Solano Counties.

Defendant Hector Cabrales-Larios, 39 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today by the Honorable Robert LaForge to serve six years in state prison after pleading “no contest” in March of this year to felony charges of hit and run.

Defendant, Patrick Gilles Murphy, 35 years old of Sebastopol, was sentenced on May 4, 2021 by the Honorable Mark Urioste to serve 6 years in state prison after pleading “no contest” in April of this year to stalking, dissuading a witness by force or threat, and felony domestic battery against his ex-girlfriend. 

Defendant Joseph Nin, 36 years old of Windsor, was sentenced today by the Honorable Mark Urioste after pleading "no contest" in March of this year to a felony charge of Filing a False Report.  Additional felony charges of Perjury and Grand Theft were dismissed as part of a plea bargain. Nin, a former juvenile corrections counselor employed by the Sonoma County Probation Department, was sentenced to 90 days jail or work release, followed by 24 months of felony probation, the legal limit for most felonies under a new law passed last year by the California state legislature.  

Defendant Victor Torres, 31 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today by the Honorable Mark Urioste to serve a term of 25 years to life in state prison after pleading "no contest" earlier this month to multiple charges of child sexual assault.

Defendant Paul Morrow, 60 years old of Rohnert Park, was sentenced today by the Honorable Peter Ottenweller to serve 5 years in state prison following a “no contest” plea earlier in April to one felony count of sexual penetration of an unconscious victim, and one felony count of sexual penetration of a minor under the age of 16.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (“PGE”) was arraigned earlier today in the Sonoma County Superior Court on a 33-count criminal complaint alleging that it recklessly caused the 2019 Kincade Fire, which burned approximately 78,000 acres, and destroyed 374 structures, including 174 homes. The fire that started on the night of October 23, 2019 at the Geysers Geothermal Field northeast of Geyserville resulted in the largest evacuation in the history of Sonoma County, including the entire towns of Healdsburg, Windsor and Geyserville.

Defendant Henry Palencia-Diaz, 21 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today by the Honorable Peter K. Ottenweller to serve 180 days in county jail, pay $1,500 in restitution, and be placed on two years formal probation, after pleading “no contest” in March of this year to charges of assaulting of his 76-year-old co-worker.

Defendant Jack Lee Johnson, 38 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced on Thursday, April 1, 2021 to the maximum term of five years in state prison after having pled “no contest” in March of this year to charges of randomly assaulting two Sonoma County residents, one of whom was an elder.