(Woodland, CA) – April 30, 2026 – On April 29, 2026, CA Board of Parole Hearings commissioners denied parole to Armando Gonzalez who is serving life-sentence at Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison (SATF) after being convicted by a Yolo County jury of 2nd Degree Murder and two counts of Perjury in 2014. He was sentenced to 18 years and 8 months-to-life in state prison. Gonzalez, who is now 51, was a Woodland resident at the time of the crime.
Gonzalez had epilepsy and had a history of suffering from epileptic seizures while driving. Although he was receiving treatment for his illness, he was not fully forthcoming with his treating physician and was involved in four car accidents from 2002 to 2011 that were all attributed to his having a seizure and falling asleep while driving. On February 1, 2014, Gonzalez was at work in Davis when he suffered two epileptic episodes. As a result, he decided to leave work early and once again got behind the wheel of his car. As he was driving home, he hit the vehicle of Darlene Ruth Morales, causing her to crash into a tree. She died shortly after. Gonzalez fled the scene and collided with another vehicle a short distance away. He later told a nurse that he had a seizure while driving home and fell asleep at the wheel.
At the time of this offense Gonzalez had a valid California Driver’s license, however that was the result of repeatedly lying to the DMV about his history and frequency of seizures.
This was Gonzalez’ first parole hearing. Deputy District Attorney Amanda Zambor, who was the trial attorney on the case, attended the hearing on behalf of the District Attorney. Zambor, who now is a prosecutor at the San Joaquin District Attorney’s Office, still keeps in touch with the son and daughter-in-law of Ms. Morales. Board of Parole Hearings Commissioner Excel Sharrieff stated that Gonzalez still continued to minimize his conduct by blaming others and lacked insight into the risk factors which led to these crimes. The Board ultimately denied parole to Gonzalez, indicating that he needed more work in the areas of victim impact and denial management.
Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig stated that he felt the commissioners made the right decision. “This is a tragic case on so many levels. But what Mr. Gonzalez did on that day, and many other occasions, is play Russian Roulette with a vehicle,” said Reisig. “He may be an appropriate candidate for parole one day, but until then we will advocate to protect the public and honor the life of Darlene Ruth Morales.”
Gonzalez will be eligible for parole in three years.
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