Palermo man faces life in prison for two rooted house invasions targeting widowed orville

Oroville, Calif. – A man from Palermo is experiencing a potential life sentence after being accused of invasion at home and the burglary of a widow Oroville on two separate occasions.

Joshua Lee Hellman, 38, appeared on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at the Superior Court of Butte, where he was accused of home invasion robbery, two accusations of residential burglary with this resident and theft of the vehicle, Mike Ramsey said.

The accusations come from incidents that involve a 76 -year -old retired nurse who lived alone in the center of Oroville. The first incident took place on February 21, 2025, when the victim discovered that her house was broken overnight, with the purse, the keys and the stolen car. Ramsey said the suspect stopped electricity before forcing the entrance.

While the police took the initial report, the victim received alerts on unauthorized use of banking and credit cards. On February 25, 2025, the victim was again targeted. Ramsey said she was awakened by someone trying to open the door of the bedroom locked around 3 in the morning, two people, a man and a woman, entered her bedroom, preventing her from accessing an emergency whistle. They stole jewelry and valuables before leaving with your cell phone. The suspects made statements indicating that they committed the previous theft.

After the suspects left, the victim found the fixed line with disabilities and asked for help from a neighbor to call 911. Police investigations, including tracking the credit card use and the victim’s vehicle recovery, led to Hellman’s identification as a suspect. Ramsey said the detectives of Oroville were arrested on Hellman on March 10, 2025. An arrest warrant was also issued for the suspect female, 32, from Oroville.

Ramsey explained that Hellman has a history of convictions, including carjacking and robbery in 2015, for which he served 11 years and four months in the state prison. He was released under conditions of conditional freedom at the end of 2021, but was arrested again in January 2022 for holding a firearm by a kind, which served for another two years. Until October 2023, Hellman was released again, but was arrested for holding a stolen vehicle, resulting in a three -year sentence. He was released in February 2025.

“This case is a microcosm of everyone wrong with the California criminal justice system,” Ramsey said. “Despite the fact that he committed serious and violent offenses and continued to recover, Hellman served only half of his different sentences before being released from prison to refresh. We hope that, this time, we can break the cycle by obtaining a life sentence.”

Hellman was notified and appointed a public defender. His bail was established at $ 1,565,000, and he remains in arrest at the Butte County. He is scheduled to return to court on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, for other judgment and entry into the plea.