A one-time Douglas teacher of the year awardee is scheduled to formally accept a plea deal Feb. 9 to resolve charges he molested several young children between 2010 and 2016.
The change of plea hearing for Jesus Armenta was added to Judge Joel Larson’s calendar following a settlement conference last week during which Armenta, defense attorney Rafael Malanga, prosecutor Michael Powell, and some victim representatives met with a retired judge in hopes of negotiating a non-trial resolution to the case.
Details of the plea deal arranged during that conference were not announced at the time. Instead, the agreement will be formally presented in open court to Larson, who has discretion to reject the deal if he believes necessary in the interest of justice.
If Larson does not accept the plea deal, the case must be reassigned to a different judge. Armenta, 39, would then likely stand trial this summer.
A county grand jury first indicted Armenta in 2018 of 11 felonies related to the alleged molestation of four children he knew from the classroom or through a local children’s sports league. That indictment was replaced by one in 2021 that contained eight felonies involving seven alleged victims.
Armenta has remained out of custody pending trial since his initial indictment. He is frequently given permission by the Court for trips to Mexico, leading some members of the Douglas community and relatives of the victims to express frustration in recent months that he has not yet stood trial.
Public records show Armenta was hired fulltime by the Douglas Unified School District in 2014 after working for some time as a substitute teacher. He was named Joe Carlson Elementary School’s teacher of the year that same year, but by 2016 questions had been raised about his conduct with children.
The next year Armenta surrendered his educator certificate.
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