Repeat DUI Offender Sentenced to 15 Years to Life for Murder

Published on March 03, 2026

Today, March 3, 2026, Shane Lee Shahan (36, of Shaver Lake) was sentenced to four years plus fifteen years to life in state prison after a Fresno County jury convicted him of second-degree murder, hit-and-run resulting in death, and driving on a suspended license.

The jury returned guilty verdicts on all charges on January 29, 2026, following less than one hour of deliberation. The sentence was imposed by the Honorable Monica Diaz of the Fresno County Superior Court.

On January 11, 2023, at approximately 3:00 a.m., Shahan was driving his Chevy Colorado pickup truck westbound on McKinley Avenue approaching First Street in Fresno. Surveillance video and collision reconstruction evidence established that he was traveling approximately 80 miles per hour and ran a red light that had been red for more than eleven seconds.

His pickup truck collided with a northbound Hyundai Elantra. Jesse Espino (35, of Clovis), a passenger in the Elantra, was ejected and later pronounced deceased at a local hospital.

After the crash, Shahan exited his overturned truck and walked toward the Elantra before fleeing on foot. Officers located him along Highway 41. He ran from officers before eventually surrendering. Although he had a cell phone in his possession, he did not call for emergency assistance.

Officers with the Fresno Police Department’s Traffic Enforcement Bureau conducted a driving under the influence investigation. Despite denying alcohol or drug use, Shahan was arrested. Blood testing later confirmed the presence of both alcohol and marijuana in his system.

Shahan had two prior alcohol-related driving convictions: a “wet reckless” in 2016 and a DUI conviction in 2017. At the time of this fatal crash, he was still on probation in the 2017 case due to violations of its terms.

As part of his prior DUI conviction, Shahan received a “Watson advisement,” formally warning him that driving under the influence is dangerous to human life and that if he continued to drive impaired and someone was killed, he could be charged with murder.

Despite that warning, he chose to drive impaired again.

Shahan also had prior felony convictions for domestic violence and animal abuse, which were considered in sentencing.

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office thanks the Fresno Police Department for its thorough investigation and commitment to protecting the community from impaired drivers.

This case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Steven Ueltzen, with assistance from Senior District Attorney Investigator Randall Paulson, as part of the Alcohol and Drug Impaired Driver Vertical Prosecution Program funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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