Will gunman accused of killing Caleb Quick in Clovis be tried as adult? Hearing set
The teen accused of gunning down Caleb Quick in a Clovis parking lot about 14 months ago will face a hearing on whether he’ll be tried as an adult in September, a Fresno County judge said Tuesday.
Byron Rangel, who was 16 when he allegedly pulled the trigger, was scheduled for the transfer hearing on Sept. 1 in a Fresno County Superior Courtroom. Quick, 18, was shot in the head on April 23, 2025, outside a McDonald’s on Willow and Herndon avenues.
The transfer hearing was estimated to last about five days and feature as many as 15 witnesses, according to Senior District Attorney Kendall Reynolds of the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.
Reynolds told Judge David C. Kalemkarian he had obtained a report from an expert psychologist for the case. Reynolds said he wanted time to review the report and that was partly why the court date was set further out.
Psychologists play a major factor in transfer hearings. Two testified in the transfer hearing for Cassie Michael, who was also 16 when she was accused of being the getaway driver for Rangel, her boyfriend.
Both psychologists ultimately weighed that Michael could be rehabilitated. A Fresno County judge ruled that Michael should stay within the juvenile system.
Rangel did not speak Tuesday during his appearance in the court, where he was represented by attorney Kathy Bird.
Stephen Quick, the father of Caleb, said he was not looking forward to the hearing. He said he was disappointed the court ruled to keep Michael in the juvenile system and had low expectations that Rangel would be treated any differently.
“Now we got a transfer hearing for the shooter here, it’s just kind of having to relive it a couple more times, go through the whole scenario (and) everything again,” he said outside the courthouse. “So it’s going to be tough.”
Rangel has been charged with murder with enhancements including intentional discharge of a firearm and lying in wait to commit the killing.
The lie-in-wait shooting of Caleb Quick
Prosecutors played surveillance video during the transfer hearing for Michael that they said showed Rangel committing the slaying. The footage showed a person wearing all black, including a hood and mask, walk up behind the younger Quick and shoot him in the back of the head at arm’s length.
In a transfer hearing, the judge does not determine guilt by way of the evidence. The judge starts the hearing assuming the juvenile is guilty, and determines whether the teen is amenable to being rehabilitated. That determines if the teen can stay in the juvenile system or be treated as an adult offender.
Police said Rangel and Michael planned the killing as a revenge for an alleged rape by Quick on a teen girl they knew.
Investigators said Michael acted as the driver in helping Rangel getaway after the slaying and helped to provide an alibi.
Michael’s murder trial has been set for July 28.
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Will gunman accused of killing Caleb Quick in Clovis be tried as adult? Hearing set."
