Tulare County home invasion robber’s sentence reduced despite DA objections
A Tulare County man will be released several years early despite his conviction for a home invasion robbery.
Hector Salazar and two men entered a Ducor home on May 29, 2013. They attacked the victim and taped his arms, legs, and eyes with duct tape, prosecutors said. The victim later told law enforcement that he felt a gun pressed to his head while the men demanded money.
After about 40 minutes, the victim, thinking the men had left after rummaging the home, freed himself to see what was stolen. The men, however, were still inside the home. The robbers covered the victim with a blanket and again put a gun to his head. After a few more minutes, the men left in the victim’s pickup.
Deputies tracked down leads and connected Salazar to the crime. Salazar pleaded to first-degree robbery with the special enhancement that he had a prior serious or violent felony.
Two years after the robbery, Salazar was sentenced to nine years in prison plus five years for the special enhancement. However, at a hearing this week, Judge Melinda Reed struck down the enhancement at the request of the Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
On May 9, the CDCR Secretary Kathleen Allison sent a letter to the Tulare County Superior Court advocating the enhancement be removed based on “inmate Salazar’s commitment offense and in-prison conduct.”
“Glaringly absent from legislation that has permitted this violent and habitual criminal to receive a new sentence is, once again, the voice of victims,” District Attorney Tim Ward said. “Truth in sentencing has been eroded in recent years by the governor and reckless policies of lawmakers in Sacramento.
"(This) action adds CDCR to the growing list of entities in California that are reducing victim’s voices to mere whispers.”
The new resentencing laws in AB 1540, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021, permits courts, among other things, to strike prior felony enhancements and reduce sentence lengths.
Prior to his 2015 conviction, Salazar has been convicted of seven felonies including burglary, receiving stolen property, stealing a car, petty theft with a prior and residential burglary.
In 2010 and 2011, Salazar was returned to custody for parole violations.
Prior to this decision, Salazar’s earliest parole date was September 2024. He currently remains in prison awaiting implementation of his reduced sentence, which could set him free.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Home invader to be freed early over Tulare County DA's objections
