(KMJ) Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims on Friday announced the arrest of a suspect in the shooting death of San Joaquin Memorial High School student Nick Kauls.
Kauls, 17, was shot twice in the head in an attempted robbery on June 24th in the Old Fig Garden Neighborhood. He died a few days later.
Joseph Espinoza, 22, is behind bars held on $4.3 million bail.
Espinoza had been arrested on a misdemeanor charge of possession of methamphetamine, cited and released at the scene – pursuant to Prop. 47 – just prior to the deadly shooting. FPD Chief Jerry Dyer says Espinoza was going on a robbery spree in order to bail a friend, Jose Figueroa, out of jail. Figueroa, 18, was arrested at a Blackstone Ave. motel on gun possession charges.
Espinoza is facing numerous felony charges including: Murder, attempted murder, attempted robbery, theft and assault with with a firearm. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, if convicted.
News Release from Fresno Co. Sheriff’s Dept.
Sheriff Margaret Mims would like to announce that sheriff’s detectives
have made an arrest for the June 24th shooting in the Old Fig Garden
Neighborhood that resulted in the death of 17 year old Nicholas Kauls.
The suspect is 22 year old Joseph Antonio Espinoza of Fresno. Espinoza
was in court Friday morning for a hearing on other charges when new
charges of murder, attempted murder and attempted robbery were placed
on his record. He is currently in custody in the Fresno County Jail with a
bail amount of $4.3 million.
To recap, it was around 11:45 pm on Sunday, June 24th, dispatchers at the
Fresno County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 phone call stating gunshots
had been fired outside a home on the 4700 block of N. Sunset Drive, near
Van Ness and Rialto in Fresno’s Old Fig Garden neighborhood. Deputies
arrived and found a 17 year old boy, later identified as Nicholas Kauls,
suffering from a gunshot wound. Medics arrived and transported
Nicholas to Community Regional Medical Center where he was listed in
critical condition.
As homicide detectives began working the case, they learned that the
shooter arrived in a light colored mid-size SUV. A man got out of the SUV,
approached Nicholas and his friend as they were in the driveway and
demanded they hand over all of their belongings. The boys refused and
ran away. The robbery suspect then fired shots at them, striking
Nicholas.
While at the scene, sheriff’s detectives became aware that Fresno Police
detectives were investigating other attempted robberies and shootings,
which occurred around the same time frame in the city of Fresno. One in
the area of Ashlan and West and the other near First and Gettysburg.
Detectives began working together to see if all three calls may be related.
Sheriff and police detectives contacted businesses and homeowners with
surveillance cameras. Members of the public also contacted us to offer
video recordings they had. Detectives reviewed videos of different streets
and were able to identify a newer model Toyota Highlander as the vehicle
possibly connected to the robbery attempts and shootings.
On June 26th, detectives with Fresno H.E.A.T., the Help Eliminate Auto
Theft Task Force, found a 2018 Toyota Highlander that had recently been
reported stolen. As they approached the driver of the vehicle at a fast
food restaurant near Shaw and Cedar, the driver used the SUV to ram a
detective’s vehicle, as well as a citizen’s vehicle. The suspect, later
identified as Joseph Espinoza, ran from the vehicle and tried to hide in a
dumpster at a nearby apartment complex. A Fresno Police K-9 found and
bit Espinoza, allowing officers to take him into custody. Espinoza was
booked into the Fresno County Jail on charges of vehicle theft and
assault with a deadly weapon.
On June 28th, sheriff’s detectives and members of its S.W.A.T. team
served a search warrant at a home on the 3500 block of E. Santa Ana Ave.
in Fresno. This is a home where Espinoza was known to stay. Detectives
and members of our Crime Scene Unit collected evidence from the house.
Following several witness interviews and the analysis of evidence,
homicide detectives determined Espinoza was responsible for the
shooting death of Nicholas Kauls.
Even though we have the shooter in custody, we know other people were
directly involved with Espinoza the night of the homicide and robbery
attempts. We would like the public’s help to identify them so they can
face the charges they deserve.
A Valley Crime Stoppers cash reward of $18,000 still exists. In order to be
eligible for the reward, you must submit your tip to Crime Stoppers at
(559) 498-7867 or online at valleycrimestoppers.org You will remain
anonymous and your tip must lead to an arrest to collect the cash. Tips
directly to law enforcement do not qualify you for the reward.
Stay with KMJ News for updates on this Breaking News story.
