Dinuba teenager arrested in connection with Visalia homicide
Visalia detectives arrested a 15-year-old Dinuba boy in connection with a deadly shooting reported nearly two months ago.
He's been wanted by police since the evening of March 13, when officers were called to the 2900 block of South Fulgham Street for reports of gunshots heard in the area. Minutes later, officers learned that a man had been shot in the 1700 block of East Mineral King Avenue.
The victim was identified as Isaak Sedillo, 20.
Sedillo was taken to Kaweah Health Medical Center, where he died.
Violent Crimes detectives started an investigation and were able to identify the Dinuba boy as the suspect. What evidence led to the boy being fingered as the shooter is unclear.
Around 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Visalia and Dinuba police departments found the teenager with a friend at the intersection of Tulare and I streets in Dinuba.
The boy ran from detectives but was eventually arrested. While the boy was being captured, the 16-year-old friend became "uncooperative" with officers, said Liz Jones, Visalia Police Department spokeswoman. He was also arrested. It's unknown if he's been linked to the homicide.
A search warrant was later served in the 300 block of North Lyndsay Way in Dinuba. The home is linked to the suspect, Jones said.
Both teenagers were booked into the Tulare County Juvenile Detention Facility. The 15-year-old was booked on suspicion of homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide, and resisting arrest. The 16-year-old was booked on suspicion of resisting arrest.
Tried as an adult
The California Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that 14- and 15-year-olds can no longer be tried as adults in court, which could result in a lifetime prison sentence, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The ruling came after a 2019 state law prohibiting youth younger than 16 from being tried as adults was challenged by prosecutors who argued that the law violated the 2016 Proposition 57, which allowed 14-year-olds to be charged as adults if a judge decided so based on the crime and the youth’s record.
Currently, the maximum confinement for juveniles is up to age 25. However, courts can place a “safety hold” after that threshold requiring placement in a medical center. The recent ruling makes California the first state to prohibit adult prosecutions of children under 16, the Chronicle reports.
Tough sentences for youth disproportionately affect Black and Latino youth, according to the Sentencing Project, a group that works to reduce imprisonment.
“Now the state will focus on rehabilitating young people,” Elizabeth Calvin of Human Rights Watch told the Chronicle. “Youth who are sent to the adult system miss out on the treatment, education, and services offered in the juvenile system. Youth kept in the juvenile system are less likely to commit new crimes.”
Ed Source contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Dinuba teenager arrested in connection with Visalia homicide
