Still, both experts for the Fresno County District Attorney\u2019s Office and Michael\u2019s defense team used five points of criteria required for a transfer, and both said that Michael should stay within the juvenile system in almost each instance.<\/p>\n
Attorneys expect the transfer hearing to wrap up as early as Friday, though Fresno County Superior Court Judge Kimberly A. Gaab is not expected to make a decision on Michael\u2019s status until a later hearing.<\/p>\n
Gaab on Wednesday said prosecutors had shown enough evidence for a murder trial to go forward for Michael, who was 16 on the night in question.<\/p>\n
Clovis police said Michael acted as the getaway driver for her boyfriend, Byron Rangel, in the April 23, 2025, \u201cexecution-style\u201d killing of Caleb Quick. Prosecutors allege they wanted to kill Quick<\/a> for an alleged sexual assault the 18-year-old committed on another teen.<\/p>\n The couple was seen on video at a Clovis McDonald\u2019s on Willow and Nees avenues with friends around 7:45 p.m. that night for \u201dFry Night,\u201d a weekly gathering after a local church\u2019s youth group meeting. They left before Michael returned later, alone, in her car. Rangel arrived after that on foot, dressed in all black and wearing a mask, prosecutors have said.<\/p>\n Senior Deputy District Attorney Kendall Reynolds called Dr. Blake Carmichael, a clinical psychologist<\/a> from UC Davis. Carmichael said the criteria are supposed to be weighed on a spectrum.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not an on or off switch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n There are five factors in a transfer hearing meant to determine whether a juvenile should be tried as an adult:<\/p>\n Totality of the circumstances and seriousness of the crime.The degree of sophistication of the crime.The likeliness of rehabilitation of the teen.Previous history of delinquency.Success of previous attempts at rehabilitation.<\/p>\n The prosecution\u2019s expert said four of the five factors leaned toward keeping Michael in the juvenile court system. Only the gravity of the crime leaned toward transferring the teen to an adult hearing, Carmichael testified.<\/p>\n While the findings on the five factors appeared quite similar, the experts for prosecutors and Michael\u2019s defense spoke about the crime differently.<\/p>\n Carmichael said the fact Michael spoke to Rangel about the alleged sexual assault by Quick showed \u201ca kind of plan\u201d to carry out the attack. He noted that Michael told friends at McDonald\u2019s she was taking Rangel home before they later returned separately, which the prosecution has couched as a lie and potential alibi.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was certainly some intent around doing something,\u201d Carmichael said. \u201cI didn\u2019t have any information available to me that (Cassie) knew (Byron) intended to shoot (Caleb) or directed him to shoot him.\u201d<\/p>\n The prosecution\u2019s expert testified adolescents tend to act more impulsively than adults, and Michael was prone to anger as having herself been a victim of unwanted sexual pressure from a partner. The details of that sexual incident were not discussed in court, but Carmichael said that episode may have played a factor in the actions of the couple.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was some kind of intent to rectify a wrong. Certainly trying to stop someone from doing something bad can be virtuous,\u201d he said. \u201cHow you go about doing that could be criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n The expert who testified for the defense was Dr. Lisa Calich, a forensic psychologist<\/a> who has a private practice and has worked for the California Board of Parole.<\/p>\n Calich worked for Carmichael at UC Davis and both said they held the other in high regard. She said all five factors leaned toward leaving Michael in the juvenile system.<\/p>\n She interviewed Michael and read the reports in the case, while Carmichael was not allowed to conduct his own interview.<\/p>\n She said Michael showed low levels of sophistication in the act. The Clovis McDonald\u2019s was a common teen hangout and was equipped with cameras.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see that as highly sophisticated given they were surrounded by people who knew them well,\u201d she said. \u201cI would rate it a lower degree of sophistication.\u201d<\/p>\n Calich pointed to the \u201cfirst love relationship\u201d between Michael and Rangel as a potential factor that intensified their emotions and led to impulsive behavior in a \u201chighly emotional context.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe appeared to be pretty resistant to influence. She wasn\u2019t doing things to get into trouble with friends,\u201d Calich said. \u201cThe first love relationship had a certain power over her. She perhaps got caught up on emotion more easily in that context.\u201d<\/p>\n Calich described the 24 hours between the couple\u2019s text discussion about the alleged sexual assault and the killing as short and impulsive. Carmichael described it as \u201cnot short at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Cassandra Michael\u2019s family history<\/p>\n The experts described Michael as coming from a difficult family background, having been born to a biological mother who was addicted to methamphetamine. The mother used while pregnant with Michael, who was taken away before her parents adopted her at about 6 months old.<\/p>\n They described Michael\u2019s time in school as productive. She had no criminal history or any misbehavior besides the kind of minor offenses that teens often get into, both experts testified.<\/p>\n Both also noted Michael had a difficult time when her parents got divorced, but said she saw a therapist and was responsive to that support.<\/p>\n The transfer hearing is set to resume Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n ![\"During](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776408915_373_FRS_CalebQuickfolo_02.jpeg\" "\\"FRS_CalebQuickfolo_02\\"")
During a news conference on Friday, May 2, 2025, Clovis Police Chief Curt Fleming shows surveillance video inside a McDonald\u2019s restaurant showing the suspect, center, in the shooting death of Caleb Quick, as he sits at a table before following the Quick outside and shooting him in the head. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com ![\"Caleb](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776408916_907_image.png\" "\\"image.png\\"")
Caleb Quick, 18, was killed in April at a McDonald\u2019s parking lot in Clovis, California. Caleb Quick’s GoFundMe ![\"Surveillance](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776408916_82_FRS_CalebQuickfolo_01.jpeg\" "\\"FRS_CalebQuickfolo_01\\"")
Surveillance video shows the suspect in the murder of Caleb Quick entering the Shop N Go in Clovis before sitting down in the adjacent McDonald\u2019s restaurant on April 23, 2025. Clovis Police Department
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