FRESNO - Kelly Duley Jr. (45, of Fresno), owner of Duley’s Quality Painting, was sentenced last Friday to thirty-eight years to life in prison for the 2013 assault of a female bar patron at a Tower District sports bar, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office has announced. Earlier this year, a Fresno County Jury convicted Mr. Duley of the felony crimes of Battery with Serious Bodily Injury and Assault with a Deadly Weapon. The jury also found that the defendant inflicted Great Bodily Injury on the victim during the commission of the crimes.
Because of the defendant’s prior criminal history, which included “strike” convictions from 1991 and 1993, the Honorable Judge Timothy Kams sentenced Mr. Duley to a term of thirty-eight years to life in custody at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. However, upon reaching age 60 and after serving 25 years, Mr. Duley will be eligible for release under the Elderly Parole Program.
In March 1991, Mr. Duley was convicted of felony Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and was ultimately sentenced to state prison for a period of two years. In that crime, the defendant became jealous when his girlfriend hosted a gathering that he was not invited to attend, and so he arrived at her apartment unannounced.
Once inside of her apartment, the defendant grabbed his girlfriend by the hair and pulled her into the bedroom. The defendant then struck his girlfriend in the face with a closed fist as he pulled her into the bedroom. The defendant then got into an argument with several other guests, pulled a knife from his pocket, and stabbed one guest in the back and stabbed another in the abdomen.
In December 1993, Mr. Duley was convicted of Negligent Discharge of a Firearm, and was sentenced to state prison for a period of two years. In that crime, the defendant attended a party where he got into an argument with the host over the entry fee. Over the next few hours, the defendant became heavily intoxicated and began complaining again about the entry fee, threatening to get a gun and kill everyone at the party.
He then went out to his truck and retrieved a semi-automatic firearm from the glove compartment, returned to the party, and began waiving the gun around. As a result, some of the hosts went next door to call the police. As the defendant left the party, he pulled out his gun and began firing the weapon in a downward arc starting from up in the air and ending pointed at the hosts. He fired at least 5 shots, with the final shot fired in the direction of the hosts.
Mr. Duley’s current case was investigated by the Fresno Police Department. The case was prosecuted by DDA Andrew Janz, with the assistance of Investigators John Ciaccio and Danielle Isaac. After the life sentence was pronounced, DDA Janz stated “Let Kelly Duley's conviction stand as a reminder that sexual assault or harassment will not be tolerated and predators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
In November of 2016, Duley won the St Jude Children's Research Raffle and was awarded a five-bedroom, 41/2 -bathroom home off Sierra Avenue near Highway 168 on a $100 ticket he purchased on the day of the raffle.
