Earlier this month, Yolo County Deputy District Attorneys appeared at two parole lifer hearings on individuals sentenced to life or lengthy prison sentences out of Yolo County.

On May 14, 32-year-old Alan Nogueda was denied parole for the second time. On July 2, 2010, Nogueda committed an assault with a semi-automatic firearm against his former girlfriend, who was also the mother of his young child.

According to a press release from the District Attorney’s Office, after his girlfriend ended their relationship, Nogueda’s mother still babysat their baby. Nogueda went to his mother’s home with a semiautomatic firearm. The mother of his child did not want to talk to him, so she picked up their baby and started to walk out the door. He followed her outside and hit her repeatedly with his fists and the gun and held the gun to the side of her head, telling her he was going to kill her.

On Nov. 10, 2010, a Yolo County jury convicted Nogueda of multiple counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, corporal injury to the parent of his child, false imprisonment, child endangerment, and two counts of criminal threats. The jury also found true that Nogueda personally used a firearm in multiple felonies.

He was sentenced to 26 years. Because Nogueda was 18 years old at the time of the crimes, he is considered a youthful offender and thus eligible for a parole hearing after serving 15 years in prison. At the conclusion of the hearing, the commissioners found Nogueda still posed an unreasonable risk of violence in the community and he should not be paroled for a period of three years.

He is eligible to request an advancement of his next parole hearing if he demonstrates changed circumstances. Nogueda’s first hearing was held in January 2024, where he was given a three-year denial. He petitioned for an advancement, allowing his second hearing to be held last week.

During the parole suitability hearing, the Board recognized that Nogueda has attempted to do some positive programming while in prison, and he has remained free of violent incidents for the past six years. Despite those positive steps, the Board ultimately found Nogueda required additional time to rehabilitate and focus on understanding the things that led him to commit his crimes before he would no longer pose an unreasonable risk of violence if released.

On May 15, 66-year-old Javiad Akhtar was denied parole for the fifth time. In 2001, Akhtar went to the home of his estranged wife and their two children, in violation of a restraining order.

The day of his crime, he purchased a pellet gun and asked his friend for a ride to his estranged wife’s home so as to remain undetected. He knew that she would be home with their children and that her car would be available after his murderous attack, so he could leave with the children.

He cut the phone line to the house and broke in through a side window. When his wife and children returned home, Akhtar came out of a back room and shot his wife as she tried to flee. He struck her in the head with the gun, causing the gun to break. Akhtar then dragged his wife into the kitchen where he proceeded to stab her repeatedly in the head, throat and body.

The attack occurred in front of their two children. After leaving his wife to die, Akhtar took his two children and put them in the car. When his ten-year-old daughter asked him why he hurt her mother, Akhtar told her to be quiet or he would throw her out under the wheels of the car. The victim was found severely injured approximately 12 hours after the attack.

On March 30, 2002, a Yolo County jury found Akhtar guilty of attempted premeditated murder, torture, cutting a phone line, violation of a restraining order, and child abuse. On Oct. 11, 2002, a Yolo County Judge sentenced Akhtar to life in prison.

At the parole hearing, the Parole Board ruled that Akhtar still posed a continued risk to public safety should he be released from prison.

The Commissioners cited the horrific nature of the crime, as well as Akhtar’s persistent lack of insight into his criminality. Akhtar will be eligible for parole again in three years and may also petition to advance his hearing.

“Both cases involved serious acts of domestic violence committed in the presence of children,” Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig stated. “We have a responsibility to those victims and the community to participate in these hearings and oppose release of those who still remain a danger to public safety.”