A man who pleaded guilty tobrutally raping and murdering a womanin San Luis Obispo County is set to walk free after Gov. Gavin Newsom refused to block his parole — despite a prosecutor’s repeated pleas to keep him behind bars.
Alberto Tamez Jr., 75, who was convicted of viciously raping and strangling Genevieve Adaline Moreno in 1974, was granted parole by the state board late last year despite San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow fighting his release at every step.
Newsom’s office could have intervened and kept Tamez locked up, but chose to cut him loose — leading Dow to condemn the governor’s inaction.
“I think the right thing would be to stop letting violent criminals out of our prisons just to satisfy his policy desire to empty prisons,” Dow exclusively told The California Post.
“I can’t change the system he created without letting voters know how vulnerable they are by letting out dangerous criminals to empty prisons,” he added. “I think the governor should not be letting everyone out, but he’s made no bones about it.”
Newsom has not publicly addressed his decision and his office did not respond to the Post’s request for comment.
“When you rape, strangle, brutalize and murder a woman — in my perspective and point of view — that should be the death penalty or life without parole,” Dow said.
The governor’s lack of action in the Tamez case has led to shock and anger, as it comes on the heels of other of high-profile parole decisions.
He is one of several inmates who have recently benefited from California’s parole reforms, especially the Newsom-backed Elderly Parole Program, which allows inmates 50 or older who have served at least 20 years behind bars to seek parole consideration.
Gregory Lee Vogelsang, a 57-year-old Sacramento-area child molester, was sentenced to 355 years to life for kidnapping and molesting five boys. He was granted parole in late 2025 before the parole board later agreed to reconsider the release.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
