Hung jury in Modesto deadly home-invasion robbery

A jury could not reach a verdict in a trial for Carlos Ivan Flores, who is accused of shooting a Modesto man with his wife and her kids held captive in another room during a deadly home-invasion robbery.

Flores is charged with murder, two counts of home-invasion robbery and assault with a semi-automatic gun in Jose Roberto Sepulveda’s death. His trial began Feb. 9 and ended with a hung jury Monday afternoon.

The jurors informed the judge they were deadlocked after deliberating for about three days. The final jury vote was 10 to 2 in favor of guilt. A new jury will be paneled to decide Flores’ fate.

The defendant remains in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail. Flores refused to waive his right to a speedy trial, so Superior Court Judge Rick Distaso scheduled Flores’ second trial to begin May 2.

The robbery occurred about 9:40 p.m. Aug. 2, 2015, at the house in the 800 block of Pine Tree Lane, just south of Paradise Road. Sepulveda’s wife had just returned home from grocery shopping with her three sons. Two robbers accosted her eldest son as he was unloading groceries and forced him into the house.

Deputy District Attorney Meghan Anderson told the jury the robbers were looking for drugs and cash. The prosecutor said one of the robbers, Flores, was armed, and Sepulveda, his wife and her three children were held captive. She said a struggle ensued after Sepulveda tried to pull the gun away, and Flores shot Sepulveda.

Amber Lunsford, Flores’ attorney, told the jurors there was no scientific evidence that linked her client to the crime scene. The defense attorney said Sepulveda was a cocaine dealer who lived a dangerous life, storing cash and packaging drugs in his house.

Authorities identified Edgar Gonzalez as the second robber after some evidence at the crime scene linked him to the home-invasion robbery. Investigators have not found Gonzales.

About a month after the deadly robbery, Flores was arrested after trying to enter the country from Mexico. He was found at the Calexico port of entry in Southern California, where he claimed to have been in Mexico for a month.

This story was originally published March 16, 2017 at 1:01 PM with the headline "Hung jury in Modesto deadly home-invasion robbery."