Former Gadsden music teacher sentenced to prison
A former substitute music teacher for the Gadsden School District was sentenced Tuesday in Yuma County Superior Court on charges related to having a sexual relationship with a former student.
Appearing before Superior Court Judge Brandon Kinsey, 42-year-old Felix Francisco Armenta was sentenced to 5 years in prison with credit for 503 days previously served for sexual misconduct with a minor.
He was also sentenced to serve a five-year term of supervised probation once he is released from prison on a second charge of the same offense. He must also register as a sex offender.
Armenta pled guilty to the offenses in a plea deal offered to him by the prosecution in April, which dismissed seven of the nine charges against him.
A former student reported him to San Luis police. Following an investigation, he was arrested at his home in June 2021. The sexual misconduct is said to have happened from 2011 to 2013.
According to Yuma Sun archives, Armenta was one of the music teachers who escorted the Gadsden Band when it went to Spain in January 2016 to take part in the city of Madrid’s holiday parade.
In addition to being one of the teachers in the district’s Summer Music Camp, Armenta has been a member of various local south county bands, among them the International Mighty Mushrooms.
A long-term substitute, Armenta was never assigned a specific school but was rather part of a group of four music teachers who rotated regularly among campuses in the district.