Man convicted of attempted murder returns to court
A consideration of resentencing is on the agenda for Friday
A Yuba City man convicted in 2011 for attempted murder will be in Sutter County Superior Court Friday for consideration of resentencing – an action made possible by a California law passed last fall. Martin Galindo, 71, was transported Tuesday to Sutter County Jail from Solano State Prison.
He was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the Jan. 31, 2011, shooting of a Yuba City man behind the former Palisade Hotel (now Travelodge) on Gray Avenue during a drunken argument over $20. Galindo had left the scene, then returned, casually eating fried chicken from
a paper bag, and admitted to shooting the man. He registered a blood-alcohol level of .22, according to Appeal-democrat archives.
The victim testified that he believed he died twice after he was shot: once when he had to be given CPR after his vital signs started failing when taken to a local hospital; and again from cardiac arrest the day he woke up from a coma, according to archives. Surgeons had to remove the man’s colon and a part of his intestines.
In April, Galindo filed a petition for reconsideration of his sentence under Assembly Bill 865.
The bill signed into law by former Gov. Jerry Brown last September authorizes U.S. military veterans convicted of a felony prior to Jan. 1, 2015, and who may be suffering from a number of conditions, to sentence reconsideration under specific conditions.
Those conditions, as a result of military service, may include sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse or mental health problems. Existing law, effective Jan. 1, 2015, requires the court to consider these circumstances in mitigation when sentencing, according to the bill’s text.
In May, the Sutter County District Attorney’s Office filed a response to Galindo’s request, agreeing that he had met the requirements for consideration, but opposing a reduction in sentence.
Galindo is a Vietnam veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1966 to 1978, according to his petition.
In 2007, Veterans Affairs evaluated his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at a 50 percent disability with moderate psychiatric symptoms.
He reported having problems with anger, hyper-vigilance, exaggerated startle response, avoidance, and daily intrusive thoughts about his Vietnam War experience, according to the petition.
On June 10, Galindo filed a motion for a new attorney with a request for an evidentiary hearing. Galindo alleged that his attorney, Norman Hansen of Yuba City, would not follow up with adequate communication in his case. On June 14, the request for a hearing was approved and Judge Susan Green ordered he be transported to Sutter County Jail.
His petition and motion for a new attorney will both be heard in a hearing Friday morning.
Galindo was arrested and tried in 2009 in another incident involving a gun.
He had refused to come out of his Shasta Street home after being suspected of firing a handgun in his backyard.
The incident ended about two hours after the Yuba City Police Department SWAT team arrived. Jurors found that Galindo had fired in self-defense, but convicted him of obstruction and violating probation, according to Appeal-democrat archives.