On February 25, 2010, Tulare County Superior Court Judge Darryl Ferguson imposed a prison sentence of 17 years and 4 months for Fernando Regalado, age 22, his brother Miguel Regalado, age 19, and Julio Castillanos, age 19, all of Terra Bella. The defendants pled guilty to four counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery, with the special allegation of committing these crimes in association with other gang members, and use of a firearm.

At about 7:32 p.m., on January 4, 2009, two juveniles were riding their bicycles on Rd 238 from Magnolia Ave, near Porterville, when a vehicle stopped next to them. Witnesses stated one of the defendants exited the vehicle, approached one of the juveniles and struck him in the mouth with a wooden object. Upon seeing this, the second juvenile rode away. After being struck, the juvenile dropped his bicycle and began to run. The defendants then placed the bike in the trunk and drove away.

At about 7:53 p.m., two other juveniles were walking westbound on Olive on the sidewalk approaching SaveMart in Porterville when a car pulled into the parking lot blocking their path. Witnesses stated the defendants jumped out of the vehicle yelling at both juveniles to give them their money and flashed guns at the juveniles. One of the juveniles stated he did not have any money. The other juvenile was carrying a backpack and it was taken from him. After the defendants took the backpack, they jumped back into the car and sped off.

At about 8:08 p.m., Andrew Levario was walking home from a meeting in the area of Belleview Avenue and Hawaii Street in Porterville, when a car approached him. According to police reports, the defendants exited the vehicle and approached Levario. One of the defendants then stated, “Give me everything you have, or I’m going to kill you,” while showing Levario a black pistol in his waistband. Levario handed the suspects his wallet and jacket.

At about 9:42 p.m, Robert Helsley was riding his bicycle in the area of Poplar Avenue in Porterville, just west of Jaye Street when a vehicle pulled up and stopped just in front of him. The defendants exited the vehicle and began yelling and screaming at Helsley, demanding his property. Helsley began taking off his rings and was carrying a shoe box, which had a train set in it. Helsley gave the suspects his rings and the shoe box. The defendants grabbed his belongings and sped off.

All three defendants were sentenced to 17 years 4 months for the robberies. Under California law, because robbery is a violent crime, the defendants will need to serve 85% of their prison sentence before they become eligible for parole. The defendants will also be required to register as gang members.

These cases were prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ismael Rodriguez, and investigated by Officer R. Olmos, Officer A. Sutherland, Officer J. Aguilar, Detective C. Contreras, and Detective M. Morales of the Porterville Police Department, and Deputy J. Bertoldo, Deputy R. Smith and Deputy E. Holt of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department.

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