On August 23, 2006 Raul Najera of Orosi was sentenced to twenty six years in state prison for the crime committed on May 1, 2005. Raul Najera shot and killed Michael Chacon on that date. After the killing, Najera ,with help from his brother, disposed of the victim’s body in the canal. The body was recovered on June 15, 2005 in the Friant Canal near Orosi.

Najera, 19, pled guilty to a felony violation of Penal Code section 192(a), voluntary manslaughter, with a special allegation for personal use of a firearm under Penal Code section 12022.5, and a special allegation for participation in a street gang.

Judge Patrick J. O’Hara sentenced Najera to serve twenty six years in state prison for his crime. He will also have to pay a restitution fine in the amount of $10,000. He will have to provide samples of his blood, saliva, and thumb and palm prints pursuant to Penal Code section 296, and he will have to register as an active participant in a criminal street gang. Najera’s plea will count as a “strike” under California law, and in the future, if he commits other felonies, his sentence could be doubled. Najera will have to serve eighty five percent of his sentence before being paroled.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ralph Kaelble of the District Attorney’s Office Major Crimes Division and investigated by Detective Gary Hunt at the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department.

Contact Person: Assistant District Attorney Carol Turner, 733-6411.