Visalia man sentenced to state prison for home-invasion robbery

A Visalia man was sentenced Friday to 33 years in state prison for a home-invasion robbery and other crimes, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office said.

Rakime Jones, 26, was found guilty by a Tulare County Superior Court jury on June 10, 2015, for the home invasion, first-degree residential burglary with a person present and intimidating a witness for reporting a crime, the office said. The jury also found that Jones used a firearm to commit all three crimes. He possessed a previous “strike” conviction for arson in 2008.

The victim was watching TV in the living room with his sister and her friend in his home in Visalia on April 24, 2014, the DA’s Office said. Jones, who knew the victim, told him to enter a bedroom and pulled out a handgun, telling him that he was going to take his television.

Two other men, Michael Cantu and Christopher Parks, entered the bedroom and took the TV while Jones pointed the handgun at the victim, the DA’s Office said. The victim called the police after they left.

Jones returned to the house later and told the victim that he would be shot if he called the police, the DA’s Office said. Jones was arrested later that day. The TV never was recovered.

Cantu and Sparks also were arrested, the DA’s Office said. Both were sentenced in September 2014 to three years in state prison for home-invasion robbery.

This story was originally published January 15, 2016 at 11:25 PM with the headline "Visalia man sentenced to state prison for home-invasion robbery."