Man guilty of pistol-whipping grandmother

By RACHANEE SRISAVASDI
November 25, 2009
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A gang member faces two life terms in prison after being convicted of a home invasion robbery during which he pistol-whipped a grandmother, her daughter and her granddaughter with a firearm, prosecutors said today.



Carlos Alberto Martinez, 26, Santa Ana, entered the Santa Ana home by using a key that had been stolen from underneath the home's front door mat, prosecutors said.

Wearing ski masks and armed with firearms, Martinez and an unidentified accomplice went into the home around 5:45 a.m. Dec. 18, 2007 and attacked a 78-year-old grandmother and her 54-year-old daughter, prosecutors said. They duct taped the women to chairs.

They also forced a 17-year-old girl – the granddaughter -- to get out of the shower and come into the kitchen.

The burglars repeatedly hit the grandmother and mother, demanding cash and jewelry, prosecutors said. They left after stealing $64 in cash and $150 in jewelry.

The victims were treated at a local hospital, and the grandmother had to be hospitalized for several days, prosecutors said.

Evidence was collected from the scene of the crime, including DNA from an interior door handle, which later matched with Martinez's DNA, which was taken from him after an April 2008 conviction on an unrelated case.

On Tuesday, Martinez was found guilty of three felony counts of first degree robbery, two felony counts of false imprisonment by violence, and one felony count each of false imprisonment by violence of an elder, first degree residential burglary, aggravated assault, assault with a firearm, elder abuse, street terrorism, and sentencing enhancements and allegations for criminal street gang activity, causing great bodily injury and the personal use of a firearm, according to prosecutors.

Martinez, who had a prior strike conviction for robbery, is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18 in West Justice Center in Westminster.

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