District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced that Joel Randy Montijo, a 27-year-old resident of Cerritos, and Joseph Martinez, a 25-year-old resident of Port Hueneme, were sentenced for their roles in a 2017 murder and robbery spree in Oxnard. Montijo, who previously pled guilty on July 28, 2022, to one count of second-degree murder and four counts of second-degree robbery, was sentenced to 35 years to life in state prison. Martinez, who pled guilty on November 2, 2020, to two counts of voluntary manslaughter, four counts of second-degree robbery, and one count of attempted second-degree robbery, was sentenced to 20 years 8 months prison.
On May 16, 2017, Montijo, Martinez, and David Diaz-Flores, 25-years-old, who was previously convicted and sentenced to life without parole, were responsible for the shooting deaths of Aaron Austin and Eduardo Viveros. Mr. Austin was shot four times and found in front of an apartment complex on North G Street in Oxnard. He was pronounced dead at the Ventura County Medical Center. Mr. Viveros suffered from three gunshot wounds and died on Perkins Road in Oxnard. The shootings were separated by less than 30 minutes. The men also robbed three additional victims at gunpoint. Martinez acted as the driver for Montijo and Flores during this crime spree.
Senior Deputy District Attorney John Barrick, a member of the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Major Crimes Homicide Unit, handled the prosecution for these cases.
“It has been a long, arduous road for the victims’ families to see justice for their loved ones,” Barrick said. “With today’s sentencing, we can finally end their trauma and hopefully begin their healing.”
