The last of four former Diablo Valley College students accused of changing grades was acquitted of all charges Friday morning.
A jury found Erick Martinez, who was charged with nine felony fraud charges for allegedly changing and adding grades for himself as well as his friends, not guilty after a two-week trial in a Contra Costa County courtroom in Martinez.
"He has been completely exonerated," Martinez's lawyer Karen Moghtader, public defender, said Friday after the verdict. "We are extremely pleased. Erick is thrilled."
More than 50 former DVC and Los Medanos College students were charged in the last two years with felony fraud and conspiracy charges after five years of students at the DVC Admissions and Records Office would change students' grades, often for money.
District and DVC officials became aware of the grade changes when a professor noticed Martinez continually showing up on his roster although he had been dropped numerous times in 2005.
DVC President Judy Walters said in an e-mail Monday that she was disappointed in the jury's verdict.
"We do not believe that this jury verdict means that Mr. Martinez is innocent," the e-mail said. "It simply means the district attorney was not able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Mr. Martinez made the unauthorized grade changes when he was a part-time DVC employee in the Admissions and Records (Office)."
Martinez's defense argued that his grades were changed. However, he did not know how or by whom.
"His grades were changed, but he didn't know about that, which he testified," Moghtader said. "When he noticed his GPA seemed higher than it should be, he asked for an audit."
District Attorney Dodie Katague, lead prosecutor, tried to convince the jury otherwise during the trial, calling for 22 witnesses, including Julian Revilleza who pleaded guilty to felony fraud and conspiracy charges and was recently released from his yearlong jail sentence.
Katague also called two rebuttal witnesses, including district auditor Judy Vroman, after cross-examination.
During Katague's cross-examination of Martinez, he responded with "I don't know" and "I don't remember" to many questions Katague asked to spark Martinez's memory of the time he spent in class and in the Admissions and Records Office at DVC.
"A lot of people don't remember when you should be (remembering)," Katague said. "It doesn't help.
"Why doesn't he know," he said, "when he has access to WebAdvisor 24-7, works in (the Admissions and Records Office) and knows how Datatel works, but doesn't know his grades.
"Fourteen grades changed to A's, but doesn't know, is ridiculous," Katague said. "Students know what their grades are going through school."
Moghtader said many people had access to changing grades and that her client really did not know who did it.
"Who would have the motivation to change 14 grades?" Katague said to the defense that someone other than Martinez changed his grades.
Katague said Martinez's case was different from the others who have been charged and sentenced for their roles in the grade scandal.
"(Martinez) was the last one in the Admissions Office who was sitting there and changing grades," Katague said.
Three other former DVC students who worked in the Admissions and Records Office, Revilleza, Jeremy Tato and Liberto "Rocky" Servo all pleaded guilty to changing grades for hundreds of dollars at a time.
Katague said the only students left to try are those who allegedly bought grades and no more who changed them.
"This verdict won't have an impact on what we have coming down the line," he said.
Contact Brett Abel at babel.advocate@gmail.com.
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