US attorney admonished for Fresno bar encounter with defendant. Trial venue changed
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge denies dismissal but censures prosecutor for encounter at Fresno bar.
- Judge found no constitutional violation but ordered trial moved to San Francisco.
- Prosecutor's conduct raised integrity concerns amid his potential magistrate promotion.
While denying a motion to dismiss a case against a former Clovis woman charged with violating a protective order, a federal judge sharply criticized the prosecutor’s actions when he ran into the defendant at a downtown Fresno bar.
The May 25, 2023 happenstance meeting at the Modernist Craft Cocktail Bar on Fulton Street was the impetus for the motion to dismiss the case against defendant Shana Gaviola. She and co-defendant Julio Sandoval of Piedmont, Missouri were indicted in August 2022 for violating a protective order against Gaviola’s teenage son.
Gaviola testified Tuesday during a hearing on the motion that the incident left her shook and fearful. Gaviola said she felt Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Tierney was “hitting on” her and it made her feel extremely uncomfortable. Tierney denied the allegation in court.
Her attorney alleged prosecutorial misconduct along with other legal challenges.
In her 15-page decision issued Wednesday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston rejected the motion for dismissal, in part, because there did not appear to have been a violation of Gaviola’s constitutional rights. She was, however, troubled by Tierney’s actions.
“The Court does not condone what occurred on May 25, 2023. For whatever reason, Mr. Tierney lost his way and again and again during the evening of May 25, 2023, compounded his error until his behavior became nearly incomprehensible. Then, when this was called to his attention, he withdrew from representing the government in court, but he continued to be involved in the case behind the scenes,” the judge wrote.
US Attorney in line to be US Magistrate
Gaviola testified in court on Tuesday that Tierney attempted to make small talk with her while she was seated at the bar. She said he approached her and asked if they knew each other. Gaviola said that once he realized who she was, he said they could not talk about the case, but they could talk about other things.
She also alleges Tierney said his prosecution of her was not personal and maybe after the case was over that they could have a drink together. Tierney denies making that statement.
A veteran prosecutor, Tierney is in line to be promoted to the position of U.S. Magistrate judge, which was not lost on Thurston.
“This conduct would be troubling if committed by any Assistant United States Attorney, but because Mr. Tierney was recently identified by the Chief Judge of this Court as the presumptive replacement for a retiring magistrate judge, the conduct strikes the very core of this Court’s integrity,” she wrote.
Trial change of venue granted
Although Thurston ruled against dismissing the charges, she agreed to a request from Gaviola’s attorney George T. Pallas of Miami, to move the trial out of Fresno.
“The Court has no doubt that Ms. Gaviola could and would receive a fair and just trial in this district before the undersigned or before any of the hardworking judges of this District whose reputations, work ethics and commitments to justice are beyond reproach. However, no matter how reverently fairness and justice are administered here, this case has suffered an indignity that cannot be repaired in this District. Attempting to do so risks the very foundation on which our Court and our justice system is based,” she wrote.
The case is being moved to the Northern District of California in San Francisco.
“Gaviola described feeling shocked and very uncomfortable about the interaction with Tierney and that she felt that no one cared about the incident or cared that she felt unsafe as a result. The Court states here in as plain of terms as possible: none of what happened on May 23, 2025 is ok,” the judge wrote. “The Court does care that this happened, it does care that she was made to feel marginalized, and it does care that she feels unsafe as a result. A defendant has enough stress, uncertainty and worry related to a criminal prosecution without also having to feel that she has no voice in the process or that she cannot be safe in the courthouse.”
Defendant: ‘I could no longer receive a fair trial in Fresno’
Gaviola said Thursday in an email to The Bee that she appreciated the judge’s order.
“I hope no woman ever has to experience what happened to me, being sexually harassed by a prosecutor who can determine the future of your life. It was a total nightmare,” she wrote. “The judge, as a woman, understood what I went through. She realized I could no longer receive a fair trial in Fresno.”
Gaviola and Sandoval’s indictment stems from an incident in 2021 when individuals acting on behalf of Gaviola and Sandoval found Gaviola’s minor son at a business in Fresno. He was handcuffed and forced into a car. He remained in handcuffs for more than 24 hours while they drove to Stockton, Missouri and placed in a boarding school until his father was able to free him, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
