On June 17, 2010, the Honorable Judge Joseph Kalashian sentenced 38-year-old Wade Ryan Allen of Lake Isabella to 50 years in prison for a brutal attack on two employees at the Visalia Holiday Inn that occurred in September of 2009. A security guard and a front desk auditor were stabbed repeatedly by the defendant in the middle of the night. The defendant was apprehended in the parking lot by the Visalia Police Department a few minutes later.

On May 20, 2010, the defendant entered a no contest plea to two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of burglary, and possession of a weapon. He also admitted that he inflicted great bodily injury on the two victims, that he used a knife, that he had a prior strike on his record, and that he had two prior serious felonies on his record.

At the sentencing, family members spoke on behalf of both victims in court. They told the Judge that the defendant’s attack on the victims on September 4, 2009 will continue to have a significant impact, physically and emotionally, upon the victims and their families. In addition to serving 50 years in prison, the defendant will have to pay actual restitution to both victims for medical bills and counseling as well as a restitution fine in the amount of $10,000. The defendant will have to serve 85% of his prison sentence before he is eligible for parole. He entered a no contest plea to four new strike offenses.

The case was prosecuted by Supervising District Attorney Afreen Kaelble and was investigated by Detective Curtis Brown of the Visalia Police Department and Investigator Eric Velasquez from the District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations.

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