On July 2, 2009, Fresno gang member, Ricky Lucero was found guilty of kidnapping with the intent to rob, for an incident that took place on Friday, January 25, 2008 at 10:00 p.m. A Tulare County jury also found true gun and gang enhancements, as well as special charges for excessive loss ($160,000) and great bodily injury inflicted on the store clerk.

The robbery took place several minutes before the closing of a local Chevron station outside of Porterville on January 25, 2008. The store clerk was in the process of closing the store for the evening when four Fresno gang members armed with weapons burst through the front door of the business. Trial testimony revealed the gang members had planned the robbery earlier that day with knowledge of the store’s layout. During the course of the robbery, the gang members dragged the clerk into the back of the store. Once there, Defendant Lucero struck the unarmed store clerk in the body and head, while another co-conspirator stole a large sum of money from the store. The clerk was knocked unconscious and suffered a skull fracture.

The Tulare County Sheriff’s Department, along with allied agencies, including the Fresno Police Department and the Fresno Sheriff’s Department, began serving search warrants throughout Fresno County and recovered portions of the money in the following days. Through its intense investigation the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department was able to arrest each and every criminal involved in this brutal crime. Three of the Fresno gang members are already serving their sentence of life in prison resulting from their conviction by Tulare County jury in February 2009. The sixth participant in the crime is awaiting trial.

The maximum sentence that Defendant Lucero could receive is life in state prison. Defendant Lucero is scheduled for sentencing in Department 4 on July 30, 2009 in Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division.

The case was investigated by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of Investigator Genaro Pinon of the Tulare County District Attorney, Bureau of Investigations.

Contact Person: Assistant District Attorney Shani Jenkins: (559) 733-6411.