Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: Martin Mendoza - California Death Row

  1. #1
    Guest
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    5,534

    Martin Mendoza - California Death Row


    Martin Mendoza


    Facts of the Crime:

    Sentenced to death on December 23, 1997 in Santa Barbara County for the January 25, 1996 murders of his two stepchildren and niece. He was also convicted of the attempted murders of his brother-in-law and nephew and two sheriff’s deputies, but the jury deadlocked on a charge that he attempted to murder his son.

    Prosecutors said Mendoza followed his wife and family—including his wife’s two children from a previous relationship and the couple’s three children—after they left the family home in Carson City, Nev. and went to her brother’s home in the San Bernardino County community of Landers. There, he confronted his and his brother-in-law’s families with a semi-automatic handgun during early morning hours as the children were preparing to go to school. Sheriff’s deputies were summoned and a standoff ensued, resulting in an exchange of gunfire before Mendoza was apprehended trying to flee the house.

    When deputies entered, they found the victim’s stepdaughter, Sandra Resendes, dead in a pool of blood. Wendy Cervantes, the defendant’s niece, and Eric Resendes, his stepson, had been shot and died before emergency personnel arrived. Witnesses testified that Mendoza was upset that his wife left him, and that he blamed his 13-year-old stepdaughter. Mendoza had previously been arrested for domestic battery after Sandra said he hit her several times with a belt to punish her for not helping him wash his car. The defendant’s wife, Rocio Cervantes, testified that she left Mendoza because Sandra said Mendoza had been molesting her.

  2. #2
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    On November 29, 2007, the California Supreme Court affirmed Mendoza's sentence on direct appeal.

    http://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/p...-mendoza-33227

    On April 11, 2008, Mendoza filed a habeas petition before the California Supreme Court.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...xTQCAgCg%3D%3D

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •