Plea deal in Modesto deadly home-invasion robbery after defendant calls Mom

Carlos Ivan Flores on Monday pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Jose Roberto Sepulveda, who was gunned down inside his west Modesto home with his wife and her kids held captive in another room. But first, he called his mom.

Flores agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors, which means he will avoid a second trial on May 2 in the murder case. His first trial ended last month with a hung jury. After three days of deliberations, the jurors on March 13 informed the judge they could not reach a unanimous verdict. The final jury vote was 10 to 2 in favor of guilt.

Before entering his plea, Flores was given permission to call his mother from the courthouse, said Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Rick Distaso. Presumably, Flores wanted to discuss the plea deal before going forward.

On June 14, Flores will be formally sentenced to 21 years and four months in prison. He must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence before he can become eligible for parole. Upon his release from prison, Flores must serve three years of probation.

CRIMINAL CHARGES

Flores also pleaded no contest to home-invasion robbery and assault likely to cause great bodily injury. Those charges were the result of Flores holding Sepulveda’s wife, Maria Ceja, and her three sons at gunpoint. Flores also admitted to a gun enhancement for using a gun in Sepulveda’s death.

Judge Distaso informed Flores that the maximum sentence would’ve been an additional five years in prison, but he will hand down the shorter sentence in accordance with the plea deal.

Flores initially was charged with murder, two counts of home-invasion robbery and assault with a semi-automatic gun in Sepulveda’s death. The prosecution agreed to drop the murder charge and one count of home-invasion robbery in exchange for Flores’ plea.

The defendant also pleaded no contest to a charge of inflicting corporal injury on the mother of his child. Punishment for the domestic violence charge was included in Flores’ prison sentence.

The prosecution accused Flores of shooting Sepulveda during the robbery. In the trial, Deputy District Attorney Meghan Anderson argued that Flores and another robber were looking for drugs and cash.

ELDEST SON ACCOSTED

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.

The prosecutor said one of the robbers, Flores, was armed, and Sepulveda, his wife and her three children were held captive. A struggle ensued after Sepulveda tried to pull the gun away, and Flores shot Sepulveda.

Amber Lunsford, Flores’ attorney, told the jury there was no scientific evidence linking 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 deadly home-invasion robbery. Investigators have not found him.

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 April 17, 2017 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Plea deal in Modesto deadly home-invasion robbery after defendant calls Mom."