What started out as a night of adult fun for three couples at a toney northeast Fresno home turned into a nightmare involving gunshots, an alleged armed robbery and an exotic dancer in tears.
Police arrested 20-year-old Adam Daniel Delacruz that winter night earlier this year and prosecutors later charged him with multiple felonies, including three counts of robbery, one count of shooting into an inhabited dwelling and two counts of assault with a firearm.
He is awaiting trial. If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum of 27 years and eight months in prison.
His attorney, Miles Harris, said this isn’t a simple case of someone sneaking into an exclusive gated-community of luxury homes to commit a crime. Delacruz was there for a reason — and it initially had nothing to do with invading someone’s home at gunpoint.
Harris said Delacruz was there on Jan. 10 to drop off an exotic dancer, hired by a homeowner in the Copper Ridge Estates community.
Dinner, cocktails and more
According to court documents, the homeowner was hosting a dinner party for two other couples at the trendy Saizon restaurant at The Row At Heritage Grove. After dinner and some cocktails, they went back to his home on North Satin Nickel Drive.
They drank wine, heated up the hot tub and later in the evening, the homeowner called an exotic dancer he was familiar with and requested she dance for him and his guests. After her performance, she also jumped into the hot tub.
“And that’s when one of the males started to become aggressive making her feel uncomfortable,” according to court documents.
She got upset, got out of the hot tub and called Delacruz to come get her. When he arrived, she came out of the home in tears and got into his car.
The two argued and Delacruz then got out of his car, grabbed his gun, put on a black facemask and forcefully enters the home, according to court documents. Police later found two spent brass cartridges on the exterior step, alongside a bullet hole in the interior entryway wall.
One of the homeowner’s guests told police Delacruz took an iPhone and wallet from him and an iPhone from his wife. Court documents also state that Delacruz approached the homeowner and took cell phones and laptop computers. The third couple was not at the home when police arrived and did not provide a statement.
Harris said that initially none of the witnesses, including the homeowner, told police anything about hiring an exotic dancer. It was only after reviewing select video footage did the homeowner admit to hiring the dancer.
Pre-preliminary hearing in September
Among the people at the party was an orthopedic surgeon and his wife, a business owner and his wife and a pharmaceutical salesman.
“This is ridiculous,” Harris said. “This was a group of privileged people who ordered a stripper and it sounds like liberties were taken that shouldn’t have been taken.”
Harris has requested video footage of the home’s surveillance cameras to find out what happened inside the home and outside.
“If there is footage available, OK: show the footage,” Harris said. “It will explain what happened inside and out.”
Delacruz is due back in court Sept. 14 for a pre-preliminary hearing.
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A Valley native, Robert has worked at The Fresno Bee since 1994, covering various topics including education, business, courts and agriculture.