Man guilty of Oroville murder sentenced to 25 years to life

OROVILLE >> Jeffrey Craig Parrish was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Thursday for the murder of 21-year-old Oroville man Lorenzo Paz II.

Paz was found dead from a gunshot wound at the 2900 block of Greenville Road on Oct. 21, 2017. On March 12, 2017, Parrish was arrested. He was found guilty in December 2019.

During the sentencing phase, Parrish and his family members requested to address the court through his defense attorney Philip Heithecker. The request for the family to speak was denied by Judge Michael Deems who was overseeing the sentencing, though Parrish himself was given permission.

Parrish told the court he planned to appeal, claimed Heithecker did not adequately defend him and said Heithecker withheld evidence during the court proceedings.

Deems cut Parrish short telling him these are claims he can make when filing his appeal.

“This is not the place to address those issues,” Deems said before threatening to remove Parrish from the courtroom for the remainder of the sentencing.

Butte County District Attorney’s Office Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Bennett prosecuted the case and requested that Paz’s mother and father speak.

Lorenzo Paz II’s father, Andres Paz, was the first to speak.

“The day I lost my son was the worst day of my life,” Andres Paz said. “We lost our baby boy.”

A statement was read on behalf of Lorenzo Paz II’s fiance, Savannah Davis.

She mentioned how Paz was killed just three days before his 22nd birthday which was also the day his son was born.

“I think these statements sum up the evidence shown to the court during the trial,” Bennett said once the statements were given.

A restitution hearing was set for Feb. 20, though Parrish waived his right to attend. Parrish was allowed 325 days served toward his sentence.

A woman was kicked out of the courtroom by a bailiff for what seemed to be recording Parrish’s statement to the court.