On Friday, October 10, 2025, The Fresno Bee reported that Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Tierney is under scrutiny following a chance encounter with a defendant at a downtown Fresno bar. The incident occurred on May 25, 2023, at the Modernist Craft Cocktail Bar on Fulton Street and involved Shana Gaviola, who, along with co-defendant Julio Sandoval, was indicted in August 2022 for violating a protective order against Gaviola’s teenage son.
The encounter became a focal point in a motion to dismiss the case against Gaviola. During a hearing, Gaviola testified that she felt uncomfortable and intimidated by Tierney’s behavior, alleging that he was “hitting on” her. Tierney has denied these allegations in court. Gaviola’s attorney further argued that Tierney’s actions constituted prosecutorial misconduct, among other legal challenges.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston denied the motion to dismiss in a 15-page decision issued Wednesday afternoon. While the judge found no violation of Gaviola’s constitutional rights, she expressed deep concern over Tierney’s conduct. Judge Thurston stated, “The Court does not condone what occurred on May 25, 2023… Mr. Tierney lost his way and again and again during the evening of May 25, 2023, compounded his error until his behavior became nearly incomprehensible.” She further noted that after the incident was brought to his attention, Tierney withdrew from representing the government in court but remained involved in the case behind the scenes.
Gaviola testified that Tierney initiated a conversation with her at the bar, asking if they knew each other. She stated that once Tierney recognized her, he acknowledged they couldn’t discuss the case but suggested they could talk about other things. Gaviola also alleges that Tierney said his prosecution of her was not personal and proposed having a drink together after the case concluded, a statement Tierney denies making.
Judge Thurston highlighted the significance of the situation, given Tierney’s candidacy for a U.S. Magistrate judge position. “This conduct would be troubling if committed by any Assistant United States Attorney, but because Mr. Tierney was recently identified by the Chief Judge of this Court as the presumptive replacement for a retiring magistrate judge, the conduct strikes the very core of this Court’s integrity,” she wrote.
Despite denying the motion to dismiss, Judge Thurston granted a request from Gaviola’s attorney, George T. Pallas, to move the trial out of Fresno. The case will now be heard in the Northern District of California in San Francisco. Judge Thurston explained that while a fair trial could be held in Fresno, the incident had created an “indignity that cannot be repaired in this District.”
Gaviola expressed her relief at the judge’s decision, stating, “I hope no woman ever has to experience what happened to me, being sexually harassed by a prosecutor who can determine the future of your life… She realized I could no longer receive a fair trial in Fresno.”
The charges against Gaviola and Sandoval stem from a 2021 incident where individuals acting on their behalf allegedly found Gaviola’s minor son at a business in Fresno, handcuffed him, and transported him to a boarding school in Stockton, Missouri. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Source: The Fresno Bee
