TranslatePress Release Index
PG&E MAKES FIRST ANNUAL PAYMENTS REQUIRED BY KINCADE FIRE JUDGMENT
Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that Pacific Gas & Electric Company (“PG&E”) has made the first of five annual payments to several local nonprofit organizations serving members of the community impacted by wildfires. The payments were mandated by the stipulated judgment that resolved criminal and civil charges against PG&E related to causing the 2019 Kincade Fire. Read full story
DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 50 YEARS TO LIFE FOR FIRST DEGREE MURDER
Defendant Stephen Joseph Archer, 36 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced this afternoon to serve 50 years to life in state prison by the Honorable Troye Shaffer after having been found guilty by a jury of the first-degree murder of victim Manuel Valdez in September. The guilty verdict was reached at the conclusion of a three-week trial during which the jury also found the defendant guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and found him responsible for the unlawful use of a firearm during the murder. Read full story
MURDERER SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE
Defendant Robert Lee Randolph, 36 years old of Philadelphia, was sentenced today by the Honorable Christopher Honigsberg for two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder. The Defendant was convicted after jury trial of all charges, special allegations and enhancements, which included use of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death. Read full story
FENTANYL AWARENESS OUTREACH CAMPAIGN BEGINS
District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office along with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program (“HIDTA”) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), have begun a joint community outreach campaign to educate the community on the dangers of fentanyl. Read full story
Sonoma County District Attorney Awarded Grant From the Office of Traffic Safety for Specialized DUI Prosecution Team
Santa Rosa, Calif. – District Attorney Jill Ravitch has announced that her office has obtained funds through a $464,132 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to continue a specialized prosecution team that handles alcohol and drug-impaired driving. Read full story
SONOMA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY SETTLES CIVIL CONSUMER PROTECTION ACTION AGAINST NAKED WINES
Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that her office, together with the District Attorneys of Alameda, Napa, San Diego, and Shasta Counties, settled a consumer protection lawsuit against Nakedwines.com, Inc. (“Naked Wines”), an online seller of wine. The complaint, which was filed in San Diego County Superior Court, alleges that Naked Wines violated California’s Automatic Renewal Law. Read full story
SERIAL CHILD MOLESTER SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE
Defendant Jose DeJesus-Galindo, 43 years old, of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today by the Honorable Robert LaForge to 125 years to life, plus life without the possibility of parole. Read full story
MAN DENIED YOUTHFUL OFFENDER PAROLE FOR 2001 SLAYING OF SANTA ROSA TEENAGER
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation inmate William Ernesto Dominguez, 38 years old of Santa Rosa, was denied youthful offender parole following a hearing held on September 15, 2022 at High Desert State Prison, Susanville. Read full story
MAN SENTENCED TO SERVE 20 YEARS IN PRISON FOR BRUTAL 2020 KNIFE ATTACK
Defendant Justin Takacs, 39 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced earlier today by the Honorable Christopher Honigsberg to serve 20 years in state prison after being found guilty by a jury in June of this year to charges of mayhem after causing the violent disfigurement of his housemate back in 2020. Read full story
REPEAT OFFENDER GETS PRISON FOR DEATH THREATS AND BATTERY BY GASSING
Defendant Kevin Ruskauff, 50, was sentenced on August 31, 2022 by the Honorable Troye Shaffer to serve twelve years, eight months in state prison after he was convicted of five felony charges, including Criminal Threats, Resisting an Executive Officer by Threat or Violence, and three charges of Battery by Gassing. Read full story