28-year-old Martin Mora, aka Martin Mora Diaz, was arrested on Monday, Aug 4 for PC 220 (b) – assault with the intent to commit a sexual crime – during the commission of first degree burglary.
The charge filed against Mora holds a possibility of life in prison. According to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Sexual Assault Team, “Many of the cases prosecuted by the Sexual Assault Team carry potential life sentences mandated by the “One Strike” laws that apply to aggravated circumstances such as multiple victims, kidnapping and burglary.”
A sexual assault attempt was reported at the Kollmar Drive Apartment complex in San Jose, where the suspect entered an apartment, apparently in order to commit a sexual assault. The strike law comes into effect when a person threatens another person either by force or intimidation while trying to perpetrate a sexual act. In the case of Mora, he had entered the victim’s apartment through the front window in an apparent to attempt to have sex with her while she was asleep in her bedroom. But once the victim saw the suspect and screamed, Mora tried to run out the front door while the victim began to call 9-1-1, and she tried to protect her young daughter who was asleep next to her.
Martin Mora Diaz
Officers arrived within five minutes of the call. However the suspect was able to escape the scene and was not located in the area. The victim told police that she had recognized the suspect from him hanging around near her apartment. He had asked for her number but she did not give it to him. She knew that the suspect slurred and did not speak well, but felt he was able to understand her rebuff when refused to give him her phone number. The victim told police that she had also seen Mora peering into her bedroom window three weeks prior to the brazen entry into the apartment. However she did not report the incident to police at the time.
During the break-in the suspect had climbed on top of a shopping cart as a make shift ladder to move the air conditioning unit in order to enter the apartment. The four-year-old daughter who was with the mother at the time of the incident reported seeing the ‘stranger’ but was unable to speak in any detail about the event. No one was physically harmed by the suspect.
The victim said she was asleep when she awoke to find the suspect in her bedroom. She then screamed, and the subject than ran into the next empty bedroom. He then came back out into the hallway after finding no escape, and tried to tell the resident to stop calling 9-1-1. He then dropped a condom in the hallway and ran out the front door.
Investigating officers took her statement and the unopened condom wrapper was taken to collect finger prints to help identify the suspect. Later through communications with the victim, she was able to identify the suspect as Martin Mora. The landlord also provided the home address of the suspect. A photo line-up was also used to help identify Mora as the person who had entered the apartment. He was also the suspect in an indecent exposure arrest.
A statement by police reported that Mora was deaf and mute, and unable to communicate with officers during his detainment and arrest. A sign language interpreter was used to help communicate with Mora, but he refused to acknowledge officers’ questions and did not cooperate with them.
According to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Sexual Assault Team, “Each year the sexual assault team handles over five hundred felony sexual assault cases and over one hundred and fifty felony violations of the sex registration laws”. Mora’s next court date has been scheduled 9-3-2014 at 1:30 PM in Dept 35.
