Sentencing delayed for 2 women held in deadly 2013 Modesto attack

A judge on Thursday postponed a sentencing hearing until Jan. 26 for two women involved in the deadly attack on Erick Gomez in north Modesto in 2013.

Elida Carranza, 24, and Jenna Sebourn, 23, have pleaded no contest to being an accessory in Gomez’s murder and admitted to an enhancement for committing the crime for the benefit of a criminal street gang. In exchange for their pleas, prosecutors agreed to a five-year sentence for each defendant.

The court gives victims’ families and friends an opportunity to speak in court before a defendant is sentenced. Authorities had not been able to reach Gomez’s girlfriend, who was with her boyfriend when he was attacked Feb. 14, 2013. The prosecution requested the postponement to have more time to contact her.

Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff granted the prosecution’s request, but ordered the defendants released from jail on their recognizance. When they are formally sentenced next month, Carranza and Sebourn will have already completed their sentences. The defendants have been in custody since the day after the shooting and will receive credit for good behavior while in jail.

The judge said the defendants, while out of custody, cannot possess weapons or gang paraphernalia.

The prosecution says Gomez, 20, was attacked by vengeful Sureño gang members hunting down any rival Norteño gang members. The defense says Gomez was shot by a gunman who remains a fugitive and stabbed by a co-defendant who became a key prosecution witness.

Five others have been indicted in Gomez’s murder and are in custody awaiting prosecution. The first trial in this case ended in late January with a hung jury. The second trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 29, but that will likely be postponed because of a lengthy preliminary hearing in another murder case.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 8:27 AM with the headline "Sentencing delayed for 2 women held in deadly 2013 Modesto attack."