(Woodland, CA) – May 31, 2016 – District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced today that on May 27, 2016, Yolo County Superior Court Judge David Rosenberg sentenced Winters resident Jessie Reneaux to a term of twenty-one years and four months in State Prison.
A Yolo County jury convicted Reneaux on March 2, 2016 following a three-day jury trial. During the trial, the jury heard evidence of two separate incidents of domestic violence that occurred in August of 2015. On August 13, 2015, Reneaux’s girlfriend, with whom he was living, prepared to leave for work and went out to her car. Reneaux followed her and punched the car and tampered with the ignition, making the vehicle inoperable. On August 28, 2015, an anonymous reporting party called 911 to report a verbal argument occurring at Reneaux’s residence in the early morning hours. When police arrived, they knocked on the door of Reneaux’s apartment, however no one came to the door. The next morning, Reneaux’s landlord came to the apartment and found the victim, Reneaux’s girlfriend, covered in bruises. He reported his findings to the Winters Police Department and an investigation was conducted. The victim told Winters Police officers that she had been grabbed by Reneaux and pushed and pulled throughout the evening. She also told officers that Reneaux held her down by her jaw and told her to stay quiet when police arrived at the apartment.
At jury trial, the victim refused to testify regarding the incidents in the case, however the jury heard evidence of the victim’s earlier recorded statement. A jail call made by Reneaux to the victim was also played for the jury. During the jail call, Reneaux pleaded with the victim to contact the police officer and district attorney’s office to claim she had lied about the incidents that took place. Due to the diligent efforts of the Winters Police Department, essential statements and photographs were preserved for use as evidence in the jury trial. The jury returned verdicts of guilty on charges of dissuading a witness, false imprisonment, and domestic violence.
In a court trial on March 10, 2016, the Honorable Judge David Rosenberg found true allegations that Reneaux suffered a prior conviction qualifying him as a repeat offender under the domestic violence law. The Court also found true allegations that the defendant had a prior serious felony strike offense for a battery with serious bodily injury, had an enhancement for habitual criminals, and had previously served a prison term within the past 5 years. These priors all served to enhance the total sentence imposed by the Court, resulting in the total sentence of 21 years 4 months in state prison.
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