Tulare County man gets life sentence for 2012 stabbing death of 19-year-old
A 30-year-old Tulare County man was sentenced on Friday to life in prison for stabbing a man to death in Lindsay seven years ago.
A jury earlier this year found Joshua Stepp guilty of second degree murder in the 2012 killing of of 19-year-old Michael Avalos, according to a news release from the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office.
The murder charge came with a special allegation of using a deadly weapon.
Stepp was accused of stabbing Avalos several times on Sept. 14, 2012 while at a home in Lindsay. Police said Stepp believed Avalos had incriminating information against one of his friends, Strathmore gang member Eric Jimenez.
Stepp’s friend, Nathan Hunt, 28, assisted Stepp in putting Avalos’ body into his car. Stepp then drove to an orchard outside Lindsay and set the car and the body on fire, according to Tulare County District Attorney’s Office.
Hunt was arrested later that day while Stepp fled to Missouri. Law enforcement arrested Stepp three days later and extradited him back to Tulare County.
Hunt pleaded to voluntary manslaughter and other crimes in 2014 and is facing more than 30 years in prison.
In April of 2018, Eric Jimenez was convicted of second-degree murder in Avalos’ killing and he’s on death row for robbing, killing, and burning another man in 2012.
Under current California law, Stepp will be eligible for parole after serving 46 years in prison.
This story was originally published October 25, 2019 at 4:50 PM.
