Moorpark Man Convicted of Murder

A Ventura County jury on Friday found a Moorpark man guilty of a series of crimes he allegedly committed in August 2011. Charges included third-degree murder, driving under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of an accident.

While under the influence of alcohol, Francisco Martinez, 36, rear-ended a car occupied by a family of three as it was stopped at a red light on Spring Road, according to a statement issued by District Attorney Gregory Totten Friday. Martinez's blood alcohol level was .25, more than three times the legal limit.

While the father drove the family's car, the mother—who was five months pregnant—and their one-year-old boy sat in the back seat.

Martinez struck the car while traveling at 40 miles per hour, forcing the car to move across the intersection at 25 miles per hour and causing the mother to suffer multiple fractures to her pelvis and the female fetus to die, Totten's statement said.

After striking the car, Martiniez drove away and was later found hiding in bushes more than a mile from the site, the district attorney reported.

Martinez had been convicted of driving under the influence on four previous occasions—in 1998, 2000, 2006 and 2007—and at no time, the DA said, had he possessed a valid California driver's license.

Martinez is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22. He faces a maximum sentence of 22 years and eight months to life in prison.