A Southern California man was sentenced to prison Thursday for rape and sex crimes against his younger sister.

Stephen Delacruz, 37, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for crimes that he committed when he was 14 and 15 years old against his sister, who was 8 years old at the time, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.

In 2019, the victim, identified as Samantha J., walked into the Oxnard Police Department to report the crimes that took place in 2001 and 2002.

During the incidents, Delacruz isolated Samantha in their Oxnard home and threatened to kill her if she ever reported him, court documents said.

Delacruz often displayed a knife prior to the sexual assaults, authorities said.

Charges were initially filed at the DA’s office in juvenile court, alleging Delacruz was a minor when the incidents happened.

However, Senior Deputy DA Erik Nasarenko sought to transfer the case from juvenile court to adult court, arguing the “crimes involved significant sophistication and planning and were especially violent and severe.”

The juvenile court judge agreed and transferred the case. However in 2022, the state legislature amended the criteria that juvenile court judges had to consider when deciding to transfer a case to adult court.

“The new criteria required courts to determine “by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation through the juvenile court,” officials noted.

This prompted a transfer hearing before another Ventura County judge applied the new criteria and deemed the case worthy of transferring to adult court, stating the “allegations were horrendous.”

Before the case went to trial, Delacruz pled guilty to all eight felony charges filed against him including three counts of forcible rape, three counts of forcible oral copulation and two counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object. He also admitted to special allegations that the victim was under 18 years of age.

“Samantha demonstrated great resiliency and determination as she fought for justice and accountability in this case,” Nasarenko said. “Facing her brother during today’s sentencing to give her victim impact statement took incredible strength and courage.”

Delacruz was sentenced to 30 years in state prison.

Homicide detectives are searching for whoever shot and killed a man in Los Angeles County Wednesday night.

The incident was reported shortly before 11 p.m. in the 800 block of North Rose Avenue in the City of Compton.

Arriving deputies found a male victim at the scene suffering from at least one gunshot wound.

The victim, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stated in a news release.

Video showed caution tape blocking off the neighborhood street lined with parked cars as detectives investigated the crime scene.

No information regarding the suspect, or suspects, has been released.

The motive for the shooting was also unknown.

Anyone with information about the shooting was asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at 323-890-5500. Those who prefer to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

Two suspects who led police on a lengthy pursuit through Orange and Los Angeles counties Wednesday are believed to be connected to a follow-home robbery in Rancho Cucamonga.

The male victim, who did not wish to be identified, visited a Chase bank on Tuesday and withdrew around $2,000 in cash from the ATM for a birthday party.

He drove to his parents’ Rancho Cucamonga home and entered the house, leaving the cash inside his car.

That’s when he suddenly heard his car alarm go off. 

“He said, ‘As soon as I sat down [inside the home], I heard the alarm go off,’” the victim’s mother recalled. “He said, ‘My car was broken into! I ran out and saw no one was close to my car.’”

A nearby home doorbell camera captured the suspects’ white SUV speeding away before the victim could catch them.

“In looking at home video surveillance, they were able to piece together what had happened and they spotted a white SUV which happened to be the Audi,” explained Maria Rodriguez a spokesperson from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. 

Around 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, Costa Mesa police officers spotted the white Audi SUV with license plates that had been stolen in Riverside. 

The suspects refused to pull over and led officers on a lengthy pursuit. They reached speeds of over 100 miles per hour while dangerously weaving through freeway traffic and surface streets.

Rancho Cucamonga officers noticed the SUV and immediately contacted Costa Mesa police, alerting them the car may be the same vehicle used in the follow-home theft. 

“Sure enough, it was determined that, yes, it was the car we had seen from [Rancho Cucamonga’s] case the day prior,” Rodriguez said.

At one point during the chase, the driver pulled over, stepped out and surrendered to police. However, the passenger suddenly jumped into the driver’s seat and sped off, continuing the chase.

The car was later abandoned in Hawthorne and was located by police. The suspect, however, was nowhere to be found.

The victims said they’re glad one suspect was caught, but are hoping the second suspect is located soon before another person is victimized.

“We were fortunate because no one was hurt,” said the victim’s mother. “But the money was gone and it was not a happy day for all of us.”

Crime technicians are investigating the SUV hoping to find evidence that will lead detectives to the suspect at large.

Anyone with information on the incident can call Rancho Cucamonga police at 909-941-1488.