By Kalani E. Gaines and Koda Slingluff
SACRAMENTO – Anthony Sanchez awaited sentencing here in Sacramento County Superior Court last week to his assault and stalking charges, knowing that he was already behind bars, about to face his victim and hear the effects that his crimes had on her.
Upon hearing the destructive behavior Sanchez had been displaying toward the victim, Judge Scott Tedmon didn’t show any mercy. After hearing what Sanchez did, he charged, “Your conduct, in this case and others not before me, is insidious in nature.”
According to court records, Sanchez became physically abusive toward the victim, with whom he was living at the time, until being removed from her home by the Citrus Heights Police Department.
And after this incident, he stalked the victim by waiting outside her door for prolonged periods of time, unannounced. This continued for the next two months; however, it gradually became more violent as was described by the victim during the hearing.
This is Sanchez’s third victim. He has already served time on one of his previous assault charges. His first case occurred in 2010 for assaulting a woman in Arizona.
His second victim was his mother.
Sanchez’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Juan Corona, had no legal cause to not proceed with the judgment and sentencing, so Deputy District Attorney Danielle Abilgard had the victim read her impact statement to the court.
The victim began by indicating that she took Sanchez in because of his living condition and went on to describe the incidents that continued to occur after he had been removed from her home.
She stated, “He showed up at my home uninvited multiple times in a day for several weeks at a time, lurking at my apartment.” This occurred from March through April. The victim was notified by her neighbors that Sanchez was hiding behind trees and bushes next to her windows.
“The more frequently the events continued, the worse the destructive behavior became” the victim said. “I felt like I was being harassed and terrorized.”
There were several specific incidents where Sanchez had the victim in fear for her life.
On March 22 at 6 a.m., Sanchez forced himself inside of the victim’s home and threatened her with a weapon.
“The defendant immediately raised a sledge hammer above my head and said, ‘You’re going to talk to me or else.’” she stated, “In that moment, I felt like I was going to die.” She was able to escape as well, as Sanchez fled the scene.
Sanchez shattered her window with a rock the day after that incident.
On April 8, again at 6 a.m., Sanchez hid behind a staircase next to her front door for 27 minutes.
“To watch the surveillance footage of [him] hiding next to my front door so early in the morning for 27 minutes, is disturbingly frightening” the victim stated. He again shattered her window with a rock after this, fleeing before the police arrived.
“[He’s] elusive—like a seasoned criminal every time the police show up,” she said.
The victim explained that Sanchez’s actions were life-altering for her as she could no longer handle the high levels of stress from excessive fear, and needed someone to help her enter and exit her home. She also moved out of her apartment.
“While he was committing crimes against me, he was already going to court for a felony assault charge he committed against his mother,” the victim added. “Clearly, the defendant has a pattern of violent destructive behavior towards women.”
Sanchez’s violence continued even after serving time for his previous charges—this is his second felony this year.
The victim asked Judge Tedmon to increase his time to the maximum sentence. She said a one year sentence was not enough, stating concern that “if the defendant is released earlier than two years he will be continuing to victimize another female.”
Sanchez had no response to the victim’s statement; however, Judge Tedmon had his own words to share, using “insidious” to describe the defendant.
Judge Tedmon sentenced him to one year, the maximum sentence allowed to be served in county jail—his time will begin in January to be consecutive as he is currently serving time for a different case—and Sanchez will be on five years of felony probation. A 10-year no contact order was also served to Sanchez.
“I am hopeful that you are able to heal from this and move on with your life,” Judge Tedmon said to the victim, and then declared, “I am hopeful that Mr. Sanchez and any others that hear this this morning understand the gravity, severity, and impact this conduct has on anyone.”
Kalani Gaines is from Stockton, CA and she is currently majoring in Sociology at CSU Sacramento as a third-year student.
Koda is a junior at UC Berkeley, majoring in Philosophy and minoring in Rhetoric. He is from Ventura, CA.
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