El Monte City Councilman Martin Herrera drove drunk multiple times and committed at least one sex offense between 2001 and 2010, Texas court records show.
Herrera was appointed to the El Monte council in January 2021 after moving back there from San Antonio, Texas.
Bexar County court records show three DWI offenses to which Martin Roman Herrera, date of birth Jan. 27, 1972, pleaded guilty or no contest, then served jail time and paid thousands in fines.
In May 2008, undercover San Antonio police arrested Herrera for misdemeanor indecent exposure and masturbation in a public restroom, according to court records.
A year and a half later, Bexar County sheriff’s deputies arrested Herrera for allegedly attempting to “grab (a) minor’s penis” in a public restroom. However in July 2008, the District Attorney’s Office declined to pursue the charge of “attempted indecency with a child – contact” and the case was dismissed.
Herrera was appointed to the City Council in Jan. 26, 2021, and was elected in November 2022. He is running unopposed for reelection in November.
Herrera’s application for council appointment describes him as a nonprofit consultant for Van Comey Business strategies residing in the 11900 block of Lower Azusa Road. He also reported “2010: DWI” in response to the application question, “Have you ever been convicted for an offense other than a traffic citation or traffic misdemeanor?”
City officials issued a statement about Herrera’s legal troubles in Texas.
“The city of El Monte takes the matters raised regarding Councilmember Herrera seriously and recognizes the concern this reporting may cause in our community.
“The information provided indicates that the 2007 case was dismissed in July 2008. Any characterization of the other cases should accurately reflect their final court dispositions. The city respects the judicial process and the importance of providing the public with accurate, verified information.
Officials extened “compassion and support … to individuals and families affected by abuse, trauma or the distress these reports may bring. They deserve dignity, privacy and access to support. We recognize that the conclusion of a legal proceeding does not necessarily end the emotional impact on those affected.
“The city remains committed to protecting children and families, maintaining public trust, and serving every resident with integrity and care,” the statement concluded.
Herrera and most of his council colleagues did not respond to requests for comment, but Mayor Jessica Ancona said she had “not seen the statement being put forward by the City Manager’s Office, and such communication should not be represented as the official statement of the city.”
Ancona said she is “deeply disturbed by the information in the court records concerning Councilmember Martin Herrera. It is serious, and it raises questions that deserve clear answers. Based on the information that has been made public, I believe Councilmember Herrera should resign from the El Monte City Council.
“Our residents also deserve to know whether city leadership was aware of this information and, if so, how it was handled,” Ancona said. “The city has a responsibility to the public, to its employees and to the families we serve to be transparent and accountable.”
Ancona said “City Manager Alma Martinez, Police Chief Jake Fisher and the Police Department must provide answers to three basic questions: What did they know? When did they know it? And what actions, if any, were taken?”
The mayor also called on leadership of the Police Officers Association “to address this matter publicly, and I am asking my colleagues on the City Council to join me in calling for Councilmember Herrera’s resignation. This is about accountability, transparency, and maintaining the public’s trust in City Hall. El Monte residents deserve clear answers and leadership they can trust.”
A Jan. 27, 2021, profile of Herrera in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune when he was appointed to the council in a 3-1 vote describes him as an Army veteran experienced in city government and an LGBTQ community leader.
“Herrera, 49, said he saw an opportunity to serve his community and was eager to be considered to be part of the El Monte City Council,” the newspaper reported.
“I just felt like in light of the pandemic that’s going on and all of this tumultuous time for so many people here in the community, it felt like an-all-hands-on-deck moment for people to step up and serve the community,’” Herrera told the Tribune.
The council seat opened when Ancona was elected mayor in November 2020.
Herrera is a U.S. Army veteran who served as a combat medic after joining in 1996, and he was honorably discharged in 1997 after an injury during training, the profile notes. He worked as an emergency medical technician with an ambulance company in San Antonio before moving back to Southern California in 2015.
In San Antonio, Herrera was president of Unity Foundation, an LGBTQ nonprofit organization, and served on the San Antonio Transportation Advisory Board and River Authority’s Westside Creeks Restoration Oversight Committee, the Tribune reported.
Herrera represents El Monte City Council District 2. He won 50.95% of the vote and defeated retired analyst Maryann G. Barrios in 2022, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters.
Summaries of the cases against Herrera are available on the Bexar County court system’s internet portal: