Rape allegation ‘not a justification’ for Clovis slaying, Caleb Quick’s father says
The father of Caleb Quick said his son was a “good kid” who didn’t deserve to be killed in an execution-style shooting police said was carried out by a teen couple as an act of revenge over rape allegations.
Stephen Quick, 18-year-old Caleb’s father, on Friday addressed the sexual assault allegations against his deceased son that police have identified as the motive for the April 23, 2025 slaying. He said his son’s accused killers have benefited from a judicial system that his son never was able to face over the veracity of the sexual assault allegation.
The teens accused of murder — Cassandra Michael and Byron Rangel — discussed the rape allegations before killing the younger Quick, according to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.
Caleb Quick was shot in the back of the head at arm’s length by Rangel, who was 16 on the night of the killing, according to Clovis police. Rangel’s girlfriend, Michael, also 16 at the time, drove him to the Clovis McDonald’s at Willow and Nees avenues where the shooting took place and picked him up after, investigators said.
Judge Kimberly A. Gaab ruled Wednesday that prosecutors had shown enough evidence to try Michael with murder.
The transfer hearing, which will determine if the teen girl will be tried as an adult in the murder case, continued on Friday for the fourth day and was scheduled to resume on Tuesday. Her defense team has argued she did not know the killing would take place.
Rangel’s transfer hearing has not been scheduled.
The elder Quick said he’s seen “keyboard warriors” make awful comments on social media about his son, and levy criticism against him.
“Well, haters are going to hate, really. There’s so many different rumors out there and accusations,” he said. “I’m just advocating for my son’s justice and many other sons and daughters that have gone through this as well.”
The transfer hearing has included testimony from several police officers, two psychological experts and other forensic witnesses. The hearing also featured surveillance video of the execution-style killing of Quick. The father and several other family members stepped outside the courtroom before the video was shown.
The judge denied requests for local media to allow recording of video or audio as well as photos during the hearing. She said she had concerns about providing a fair trial for Michael if images and video were circulated for a case that has drawn significant public interest.
Quick said he had been familiar with most of the case, so little of the evidence presented so far in the transfer hearing was new to him.
However, he was surprised by the DNA evidence.
The court heard testimony Wednesday that DNA from both Rangel and Michael was found on the silver .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum revolver police said was used in the slaying. The prosecution argued the girl’s DNA shows she was aware that Rangel had a gun with him that night.
“That type of evidence is pretty profound in my eyes,” Quick said.
The defense has argued DNA can be passed indirectly and likely came from the gun touching the seat where Michael had been sitting in the Tesla they used and not from the girl handling the gun.
Quick said he was hopeful that Michael would be transferred for an adult criminal trial, but also acknowledged the low odds of that happening. Statistics on the number of minors transferred to adult court in Fresno County since the passing of Proposition 57 in 2016 were not immediately available.
A forensic psychologist for the defense described the killing as happening in the “highly emotional context” of a “first love relationship” between the teen couple, saying that emotions intensify impulsivity in adolescents.
Quick said he was struck by the testimony he believed showed the teens accused of the crime did not act on impulse.
“It was a whole day ahead of time, almost 24 hours at least (that) these two were wanting him dead,” he said. “They had every opportunity to change away from that plan, and they just stuck to it. To me, that was not impulsive — 24 hours is not impulsive behavior. That was pretty calculated.”
The rape allegations against Caleb Quick
The transfer hearing included testimony from Clovis police about the alleged sexual assault on April 13 after a house party in Clovis.
Clovis Police Det. Emily Eide said more than one of the teens she interviewed shared they’d heard rumors and allegations that Quick had sexually assaulted a drunk teenage girl who was the sister of Michael’s friend.
Eide spoke to the alleged rape victim, who told her Quick “was like a brother to me.”
The girl’s statement to police at one point described the encounter as sexual assault while at another time the girl said she wasn’t sure if she consented, Eide said.
The victim said she had six or seven drinks of beer and shots and, by 2 a.m., had fallen asleep on a chair and then on the grass in a yard, according to Eide. Other teens at the party told the detective they believed the girl would get home safe with Quick.
Clovis Det. Lovedeep Malhi said Quick gave the inebriated teen girl a ride home from the party.
The girl had no memory of a sexual encounter with Quick. Police later found videos of the alleged assault on his phone, and Quick sent video of it to the girl the next morning, according to Clovis police.
“I don’t know how many he sent her, but they were extracted from his phone,” Malhi said.
Gaab, the judge, said the final testimony and evidence was expected to be presented on Tuesday. The final arguments for the defense and prosecution were set for a hearing on May 15, because of scheduling conflicts in the interim.
