A Napa County judge has denied resentencing requests from two brothers convicted nearly three decades ago in the attack on a Southern California family vacationing in Napa Valley, prosecutors said.
In a statement Tuesday, the Napa County District Attorney’s Office said Judge Scott Young of the county Superior Court upheld the original prison sentences for Johnny Barra Jr., 50, and Josiah Cheston Barra, 48, who were convicted in 1996 of attempted first-degree murder and robbery in the attack on a Southern California family vacationing in Napa Valley.
According to prosecutors, the brothers approached three men walking along Washington Street in downtown Yountville on Dec. 30, 1995, after the group had dinner with relatives. After demanding money, the brothers stabbed all three victims, causing serious injuries, authorities said.
The pair later fled to Fresno, where they were arrested and returned to Napa County.
Young upheld Johnny Barra’s sentence of 14 years to life plus 23 additional years and Josiah Barra’s sentence of 14 years to life plus 14 additional years, prosecutors said.
The resentencing petitions were filed under changes made by Senate Bill 1437, a 2019 California law allowing some defendants convicted of attempted murder to seek review if they were found guilty under theories that did not require proof they intended to kill.
Deputy District Attorney Agnes Dziadur argued that both brothers specifically intended to kill the victims, prosecutors said, and the court agreed.
“These men didn’t just participate in a crime where violence occurred by happenstance — they deliberately set out to kill, and the evidence presented in this case made that unmistakably clear,” Dziadur said. “The court’s ruling ensures their convictions remain exactly where they belong.”