Teen gets 25 to life for murder of Big Hill woman
The family of murder victim Dionecia Valencia was tearful outside of the historic Tuolumne County Courthouse on Tuesday morning after one of two defendents accused of killing her was sentenced to at least 25 years in prison.
Valencia’s niece Courtney Crawford, who said she was taken in by Valencia during her youth and is now taking care of Valencia’s children, felt the plea deal underlying and prescribing the sentence was “as much justice as we could get” for defendant Seber “Gage” Stokes, 18.
“I’m glad it’s finally over and that her kids can finally move on,” she said.
Tuolumne County Superior Court Judge Donald Segerstrom said he knew the victim, her children, Stokes and Stokes’ mother, though he could not provide further context as to how.
“I have lived long enough and seen a lot of cases, and this is one of the most horrible, brutal, callous crimes I have ever seen,” he said in court.
Segerstrom said the probation report, which includes victim statements, would be closed as a public record 60 days after the hearing. He said in order to preserve Crawford’s statement for Valencia’s children, he printed out copies for her to provide for them when she felt they were old enough.
“I couldn’t say it any better than you did,” Segerstrom said.
Crawford’s statement, which was read by Tuolumne County Assistant District Attorney Eric Hovatter, said Valencia guided her through youthful indiscretions and gave her insights on how to live a better, more wholesome life.
“I’ll never forget how warm and inviting her home had been during the darkest time in my life,” the letter said. “No matter what the situation was, she could always figure it out.”
Crawford’s letter said she had adopted some of Valencia’s five children following her death.
“She never wanted to see the bad or evil in anyone and, in the end, that was her downfall,” the letter said.
Stokes did not make a statement during the hearing and sat next to his attorney, James Newkirk, throughout the duration of it.
Segerstrom described Stokes’ mother as a “gentle” woman, while characterizing Stokes’ apparent lack of remorse as “chilling.”
“She [Stokes’ mother] would be horrified,” Segerstrom said. “She would be shocked at the viciousness, the unspeakable viciousness, of what happened here.”
Underlying the case in the victim statements and the crimes, Segerstrom added, was a lesson on the destructive impact of drugs.
“That’s a message that should be broadcasted far and wide,” he said.
Hovatter read all six of the victim impact statements on the recommendation of the family.
Shauna Armbright, Valencia’s niece, said in her letter that she was “frozen in fear” when she heard about a body found in the fire debris of her aunt’s home the morning after the murder in 2019.
“Not only was it real, but it was worse than we could ever imagine,” Armbright said.
After the hearing, Armbright was joined by Valencia’s mother, Ruby Caballero, and Valencia’s niece Melita Cognetti.
“It’s hard to put into words what we’ve been through,” Armbright said.
In the aftermath of Valencia’s death, Armbright said members of their family moved from the area due to grief, and others have undergone health issues.
“Even two years later, things are happening that are putting us through the pain all over again,” she said. “It’s hard to say just how much this has affected us.”
Cognetti said in her letter that she “hated” the two defendants in the case. She added that, though she did not feel life imprisonment was enough of a punishment, she did not believe Valencia would have wanted them to die in retribution.
“No matter how much she suffered at their hands, she wouldn’t want any more lives taken,” Cognetti said in her statement.
Stokes agreed to a plea deal on May 26 that stipulates 25 years to life in prison for first-degree murder, preceded by nine years for second-degree attempted murder and arson.
California sentencing laws for juvenile offenders mean that Stokes will be eligible for parole within 25 years of his arrest, which happened on Aug. 13, 2019, hours after Valencia’s body was found.
Stokes earned 854 total days served, 743 actual days and 111 conduct credits, the court announced. He and the other defendant, Nikalus Overstreet, 18, were both 16 when Valencia, 39, was stabbed and chopped to death.
The murder was believed to have happened the night before Valencia’s body was discovered by firefighters on the morning of Aug. 13, 2019, while they were responding to a fire at her trailer on Calle Quartz Road.
Both defendants have been in custody since they were arrested the day of the fire. They were previously held in separate juvenile detention facilities, but have been transferred to the Tuolumne County jail since turning 18.
Sonora attorney David Beyersdorf had been appointed by Segerstrom to determine if there were grounds for Stokes to withdraw his plea based on dissatisfaction with his court-appointed attorney, Newkirk, and announced earlier this month that Stokes would not.
Newkirk was relieved as attorney following the end of the hearing.
Overstreet entered a guilty plea on June 28 to one count of first-degree murder, attempted murder and arson. His plea agreement is to serve 25 years to life in state prison, as well as five, seven, or nine additional years, which will be decided by the judge at his sentencing on Aug. 27.
Both of the defendants were charged with seconddegree attempted murder and arson after being accused of setting fire to Valencia’s trailer while her friend was sleeping inside, though the woman was able to escape with her life.
Stokes and Overstreet were tried as adults, but separately because they presented a different version of events the night Valencia was murdered.
Stokes admitted while testifying in court during a multi-day hearing last year that he stabbed Valencia once in her neck with a handleless blade he had on him at the time.