Livermore felon gets 10-plus years in prison for gun violations in Tuolumne County
A convicted felon from Livermore is headed to state prison to serve a 10-year, four-month sentence for brandishing and firing a gun during a dispute in Columbia last year, the Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release Friday afternoon.
Jesse Angel Serpa, 42, was sentenced on May 27 in Tuolumne County Superior Court after pleading guilty to a felony count of recklessly discharging a firearm and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, the release said.
The reckless discharge of a firearm charge is considered a strike under California “three strikes” law, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Serpa was arrested by Tuolumne County Sheriff’s deputies on May 18, 2021, following several reports of a verbal dispute followed by gunshots on Gunsight Road in Columbia, the Sheriff’s Office reported at the time.
The deputies spoke with two people at a Gunsight Road property and learned that Serpa had arrived at the residence claiming someone had stolen some of his belongings, the Sheriff’s Office reported the day after Serpa’s arrest.
According to Friday’s news release from the District Attorney’s Office, Serpa was driven to the home of Benjamin Tarango and accused him of wrongdoing.
Tarango reportedly denied the claim, and he and his girlfriend told Serpa to leave, at which point Serpa brandished a gun and fired a shot into a nearby berm on the property, the District Attorney’s Office said. No one was struck or injured, the Sheriff’s Office said at the time.
Sheriff’s deputies found Serpa at another property on Gunsight Road and searched his vehicle and the surrounding area, uncovering a 9mm pistol that did not have a brand marking or serial number, 9mm ammunition and magazines, the Sheriff’s Office reported after his arrest.
Serpa was reportedly on postrelease community supervision for an unspecified charge out of Alameda County at the time of the incident. He was booked into county jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Serpa’s home address was listed in jail booking logs at the time of his arrest as being on the 1000 block of Bluebell Drive in Livermore.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Novelli.