Gang member faces trial in violent Westminster home-invasion robbery

WESTMINSTER - A gang member from Santa Ana faces trial tomorrow for entering a home using a key stolen from under the welcome mat and robbing a mother, daughter, and grandmother at gunpoint after duct-taping them to a chair and assaulting them with a gun.

Carlos Alberto Martinez, a 26-year-old convicted robber, faces charges including first degree robbery, false imprisonment, first degree residential burglary, aggravated assault, and weapons and gang enhancements.

Martinez faces a maximum sentence of three life terms in state prison if convicted.

At 5:45 a.m. on Dec. 18, 2007, Martinez and an unidentified accomplice allegedly entered a Santa Ana home using a stolen key that they had seen the grandmother hide under a mat.

Wearing ski masks and armed with guns, the men allegedly entered the kitchen and attacked an unidentified woman and her 54-year-old daughter. Martinez and his accomplice are accused of duct-taping the two victims to chairs by binding their wrists, ankles, bodies, and faces.

One of the defendants is accused of going into a bathroom, where a 17-year-old girl was showering. He then allegedly ordered her at gunpoint to get out of the shower and forced her into the kitchen, where her mother and grandmother were being held.

As the three victims screamed, the two defendants are accused of repeatedly hitting two women in the face with their firearms as they demanded cash and jewelry, officials said.

Martinez and his accomplice allegedly stole $64 in cash and $150 in jewelry items and then ran away.

A neighbor called 911 after hearing the victims screaming.

The victims were transported to the hospital to be treated for their injuries. Jane Doe #3 was hospitalized for several days and continues to suffer from chronic headaches and vision problems as a result of the attack. Evidence was collected from the scene of the crime, including DNA from an interior door handle.

In April 2008, Martinez was convicted in an unrelated gang case for street terrorism and the unlawful taking of a vehicle in Orange County. He was sentenced to four years in state prison. The defendant was ordered to submit his DNA as a result of the conviction.

In June 2008, the DNA collected from the home in Santa Ana was matched to Martinez's DNA from his April 2008 conviction. The defendant was transported from state prison to Orange County to face charges.