FRESNO CO, Calif. (FOX26) — Fresno County Superior Court Judge Brian Alvarez sentenced 17-year-old Cassandra Michael to seven years in a secure youth treatment facility after finding her guilty of first-degree murder of 18-year-old Caleb Quick.
FULLSTORY: Getaway driver, Cassandra Michael, sentenced to 7 years in Caleb Quick murder case (Christina Rodriguez FOX26)
Michael was convicted of aiding and abetting in the murder of 18-year-old Caleb Quick and sentenced last Wednesday.
Quick was shot and killed on April 23, 2025, outside a McDonald’s near Willow and Nees avenues in Clovis.
Investigators eventually connected Michael to the case through surveillance footage that led them to a white Tesla. Prosecutors said Michael drove the suspected shooter before and after Quick was killed.
During Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Alvarez said Michael did not fire the fatal shot but played a significant role in the events that led to Quick’s death.
“She didn’t pull the trigger. She started a chain of events that led to the way that this offense was committed,” Alvarez said. “She was a contributing, a significant contributing factor in the murder of Caleb Quick and the way that it happened.”
Before Michael learned her sentence, Quick’s parents addressed the court through emotional victim impact statements.
Quick’s mother described the milestones she will never get to experience with her son.
“No sentence can allow me to watch him grow older, celebrate his accomplishments, hear his voice, or see the man he would have become,” she told the court.
Michael’s mother could also be seen crying as Quick’s family addressed the judge.
Quick’s father, Stephen Quick, questioned how his son’s killing could be reconciled with the life Michael was able to continue living in the weeks afterward.
“This is psychopathic,” Quick told the court. “She got to enjoy prom just two Saturdays after that. My son did not.”
Michael’s attorneys asked Alvarez to impose a four-year term, while the probation department recommended six years. Prosecutors sought the maximum seven-year sentence.
Alvarez ultimately agreed with prosecutors.
While discussing Michael’s actions, the judge expressed concern about what led a teenager to become involved in the killing.
“I’m not prepared to say it’s some type of psychotic,” Alvarez said. “Somewhere along the line, something is wrong and that’s quite concerning for the court.”
Michael declined to address the court before she was sentenced.
She will receive credit for time she has already spent in custody and has 60 days to appeal.
Outside the courthouse following the sentencing, Stephen Quick said the punishment available in juvenile court is difficult to reconcile with a crime as serious as premeditated murder.
“Usually you want 25 to life when a person does premeditated murder, but since they’re a teen, you know, we look at their age,” Quick said.
Despite the loss of his son and the lengthy court process, Quick said he does not blame Michael’s parents for what happened.
“This is something that shouldn’t have happened, shouldn’t have occurred,” Quick said. “Cassandra’s parents, I have no animosity towards them.”
He said both families are now dealing with consequences they never expected.
“That’s not anyone’s dreams to come and go to court or bury loved ones,” Quick said. “They’re just people that are experiencing the same grief that we are, but a different capacity.”
The criminal case surrounding Quick’s death is not over.
Byron Rangel, the 16-year-old accused of shooting Quick, is scheduled for a transfer hearing on Dec. 1. A judge is expected to determine whether his murder case will remain in the juvenile justice system or move forward in adult court.
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Michael was convicted of aiding and abetting the murder by serving as the getaway driver.
Additional details surrounding the sentencing were not immediately available.