Marvin Joseph Chang: Conviction, 208-Year Sentence, and Appeal

Marvin Joseph Chang is a California man serving 208 years to life in state prison for a February 19, 2021 rampage that began inside Sequoia National Park and ended in a shootout with law enforcement in a Tulare County orange grove. A Tulare County jury convicted him in July 2024 of five counts of premeditated attempted murder of peace officers, and California’s Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction in March 2026.¹²

What Happened on February 19, 2021

The violence started inside Sequoia National Park. Federal prosecutors said Chang brandished a knife at a visiting family in the Giant Forest area, pulled a semi-automatic 9 mm pistol, slashed a tire on the family’s vehicle, and drove off in a white Toyota Prius.³ At a gas station in nearby Three Rivers he knocked on a woman’s car window and pointed a gun at her; as she drove away he fired out of his own car window.¹

CalFire officers tried to stop him near Horse Creek bridge. Chang stopped, aimed, and opened fire. The officers returned fire, and a pursuit moved onto Highway 198 near Lemon Cove, where Tulare County sheriff’s deputies joined in. Chang shot at a sheriff’s unit, at a deputy directing traffic, and at a deputy setting a spike strip.¹

After one tire blew out, Chang stopped in a young orange grove near Woodlake and ran. A California Highway Patrol officer parked behind the Prius and approached to clear the car with her weapon still holstered. Chang stepped out from behind a tree and opened fire. She returned fire, and when she tried to reload he advanced, shot her once in the shoulder, and pistol-whipped her after his own gun jammed. Deputies ran back toward the shots, and Chang was captured after another firefight in which he too was shot. He was hospitalized in critical condition.¹³

A Prior Strike From 2006

Chang already had a serious violent conviction on his record. On December 1, 2006, when he was 18, he and two friends stabbed a 17-year-old boy during an argument at Memorial Park in Sierra Madre. The original attempted murder charge was dismissed, and on April 18, 2008 he was sentenced to seven years in state prison for assault with a deadly weapon.⁴ That conviction counted as a strike under California’s Three Strikes law and made Chang a felon barred from possessing firearms or ammunition, which later framed both the firearm counts and the sentence enhancements in his 2024 case.⁵

The 2024 Conviction and Rejected Insanity Defense

On July 22, 2024, a Tulare County jury convicted Chang of:

Five counts of premeditated and deliberate attempted murder of peace officers from CalFire, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Highway Patrol
Assault with a semi-automatic firearm on peace officers
Felon in possession of firearms, ammunition, and a ballistic vest
Felony evading law enforcement
Personal firearm discharge enhancements

The court also found the 2008 strike prior to be true.¹

Two days later, on July 24, 2024, the same jury found Chang legally sane at the time of the crimes, rejecting his insanity defense.⁶ Testifying in his own defense, Chang admitted a history of supporting political extremism, including affiliations with what prosecutors described as anarchist “revolutionary” groups such as Antifa and other anti-government and anti-law-enforcement organizations.¹

How the 208-Years-to-Life Sentence Was Built

Chang was sentenced on August 16, 2024, at age 36. The 208-years-to-life figure stacks multiple indeterminate life terms for the five attempted murder counts on top of firearm enhancements under California Penal Code section 12022.53 and additional determinate terms for the remaining counts. The appellate record describes the full calculation as 225 years to life plus 63 years and 8 months of determinate time, built from base terms of 50 years to life and 30 years to life on the individual attempted murder counts with 20- and 25-year firearm enhancements.⁷

Federal Charges for the Park Conduct

The state case covered conduct outside park boundaries. For what happened inside Sequoia National Park, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of California indicted Chang on August 5, 2021, on four counts: assault with a dangerous weapon, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, being a felon in possession of ammunition, and vandalism. The brandishing count alone carried a seven-year mandatory consecutive minimum, with ten-year maximums on each of the others.⁵

The 2026 Appeal

Chang appealed to California’s Fifth District Court of Appeal, arguing that the trial court should have instructed the jury on imperfect self-defense, a theory that would have reduced the attempted murders to attempted voluntary manslaughter. His argument rested on his belief during the chase that the pursuing officers were CIA agents.⁷

On March 25, 2026, a three-justice panel affirmed. The court held that Chang’s belief the officers were CIA agents was “purely delusional” and lacked any “objective correlate” that could support an actual belief in the need for self-defense under People v. Elmore (2014). Refusing the instruction was therefore not error, and the 208-years-to-life sentence stands.²

1
Tulare County District Attorney. Court Sentences Marvin Chang to Life in Prison for Attempted Murder of Police Officers
2
California Courts. P. v. Chang, F088521
3
GV Wire. Alleged Assault on Sequoia Tourists That Led to Shooting of CHP Officer Brings Federal Charges
4
Visalia Times-Delta. New Details on Man Who Shot Multiple Tulare County Officers
5
U.S. Department of Justice. Man Charged With Violent Crimes in Sequoia National Park
6
Tulare County District Attorney. Guilty Verdict in Attempted Murder of Police Officers
7
Findlaw. People v. Chang