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FARMINGTON — A mother convicted of taking her two daughters she did not have legal custody of to New Mexico, sparking an Amber Alert, was sentenced to jail Tuesday.
Monica Jody Martinez, 27, pleaded guilty June 28 to two reduced counts of custodial interference, a third-degree felony.
On May 5, Martinez and Christopher John Montoya, 35, took their two daughters, 3-year-old Marae Montoya and 11-month-old Cynthia Montoya, from the Clinton home where they were being cared for. The incident sparked police to activate an Amber Alert.
The couple and the children were found unharmed in Gallup, New Mexico, early the next day thanks to an alert motel clerk.
On Tuesday, Martinez was sentenced to 150 days in the Davis County Jail with credit for time served, and she was placed on 36 months of probation.
Montoya, who pleaded guilty to the same reduced charges, is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 23.
The couple no longer has custody of the girls and has a no-contact court order in place due to a history of domestic violence with the children present, according to a warrant for their arrest.
