People v. Martinez CA5

INTRODUCTION

A jury convicted Armando Gomez Martinez (appellant) of 31 child sexual abuse counts for the molestation of his two young daughters, E.M. and K.M. The trial court sentenced appellant to 550 years to life plus 72 years in state prison. On appeal, we reject appellant’s claims that specific counts were not supported by substantial evidence, and that the trial court and prosecutor committed violations of the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 (CRJA). However, we agree with the parties that the trial court was unaware of its discretion to impose concurrent sentences on counts 1-3 and 25-32. We also find that the 25-year-to-life sentences on counts 24 and 28 were unauthorized. We therefore vacate appellant’s sentence and remand the matter for resentencing. Otherwise, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

I. Familial Background.

E.M. and K.M. are sisters. E.M. is approximately five and a half years older than K.M. Appellant is their father. Up until appellant’s arrest, E.M. and K.M. lived with appellant and their mother, who were married. Due to the mother’s work schedule, she was frequently away from home, leaving appellant to care for E.M. and K.M. Appellant was a strict…