A 28-year-old Fresno police officer was arrested twice within three days this month after domestic violence-related incidents in Visalia, and he now faces four criminal counts including a felony charge of resisting arrest. Officer Jacob Ryan Romero has been placed on paid administrative leave as the case moves through Tulare County court, with his next hearing set for Oct. 29.
According to kmph.com, the Fresno Police Department confirmed Romero has been an officer with the department since 2022. The outlet reports that he was reportedly arrested twice in three days for domestic violence by Visalia police, with the first arrest coming after officers responded to a report of a family disturbance at approximately 4:43 a.m. on Oct. 12 in the 3200 block of North Noyes Court in Visalia.
Per the Fresno Bee, the 911 call that triggered that first arrest came from the Noyes Court address in northwest Visalia, and a temporary restraining order was issued afterward, according to court records cited by the paper. The Bee also reports that the alleged victim was an adult woman, per Visalia police, and that Visalia Police Department spokesperson Liz Jones has been the department's point of contact on the case.
Second Arrest Three Days Later Brings Resisting Charge
The station's report states that the second incident involved the same woman at the same address on Oct. 15 at approximately 7:14 p.m. The Fresno Bee specifies that location as a home northeast of Akers Street and Riggin Avenue in Visalia, and describes the Oct. 15 call as domestic violence-related, according to Visalia police.
When officers arrived for that second call, they said Romero resisted arrest, per the same kmph.com account. The Fresno Bee reports that Romero now faces a felony count of resisting an executive officer, along with misdemeanor counts tied to violating the restraining order and other obstruction-related allegations — four counts in total connected to the second incident, according to the Bee's reporting on charges confirmed by the Tulare County District Attorney's Office.
The Bee further reports that the District Attorney's Office considered the first incident a civil matter, while charges were filed Monday specifically in connection with the second incident. The Tulare County District Attorney has filed four charges against Romero overall, kmph.com reports. His attorney status was not immediately clear, according to the Bee's reporting.
Department Response and Leave Status
An officer with the Fresno Police Department has been placed on administrative leave after he was arrested for domestic violence in Visalia, kmph.com reports. The Fresno Bee adds that Fresno police Lieutenant Brian Pierce described paid administrative leave as typical for an officer who is arrested, a standard practice while the case is pending. Romero's court date has been set for Oct. 29, according to the same kmph.com report.
Part of a Broader County Crackdown
The arrests come amid heightened domestic violence enforcement across Tulare County. Multiple law enforcement agencies arrested 12 domestic violence suspects across the county during a coordinated operation, according to yourcentralvalley.com, which reported that the arrests included both felony and misdemeanor cases. The outlet notes that the Tulare County Sheriff's Office teamed up with other agencies in the county to arrest people with outstanding warrants as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, an effort that involved police departments including Visalia, Lindsay, Tulare, Dinuba, Woodlake and Exeter alongside the Sheriff's Office, the District Attorney's Office, the state parole division and the TARGET Task Force.
