State v. Segundo

── State v. Segundo ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arizona Date: April 16, 2026 Category: General NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION. UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE. IN THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION ONE STATE OF ARIZONA, Appellee, v. MATTHEW BRIAN SEGUNDO, Appellant. No. 1 CA-CR 25-0186 FILED 04-16-2026 Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County No. CR2022-143522-001 The Honorable Patricia A. Starr, Judge VACATED AND REMANDED COUNSEL Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Phoenix By Gracynthia Claw Counsel for Appellee Maricopa County Public Defender’s Office, Phoenix By Jennifer Roach Counsel for Appellant  STATE v. SEGUNDO Decision of the Court MEMORANDUM DECISION Vice Chief Judge David D. Weinzweig delivered the decision of the Court, in which Presiding Judge Michael J. Brown and Judge Veronika Fabian joined. W E I N Z W E I G, Vice Chief Judge: ¶1 Mathew B. Segundo appeals his convictions and sentences for sexual abuse, public sexual indecency, aggravated assault, five counts of molestation of a child and sexual conduct with a minor. We vacate his convictions and sentences because it was fundamental error to admit Segundo’s uncharged sexual acts without proper disclosure or analysis by the superior court. We remand for a new trial consistent with this decision. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND ¶2 We view and thus recount the facts in the light most favorable to sustaining the jury’s verdicts. See State v. Nelson, 214 Ariz. 196, 196, ¶ 2 (App. 2007). We use pseudonyms to protect the victims’ identities. Ariz. R. Sup. Ct. 111(i). Ana ¶3 Segundo had a daughter, Ana, who was mostly absent from his life until 2016, when he moved to his sister’s home, where Ana visited on weekends and school breaks. Ana was around eleven years old and shared a bed with Segundo when she visited. ¶4 During one of those visits, Segundo grabbed Ana’s hand while she pretended to be asleep and used it to masturbate himself. He also placed his hand up her thigh and touched her vagina. Another time, he placed his penis into Ana’s mouth while she slept. For those acts, the State charged Segundo with two counts of molestation of a child and one count of sexual conduct with a minor. ¶5 Ana reported the crimes to police in 2021. Given the time gap between abuse and report, no physical evidence was recovered. Police arranged a recorded confrontation call during which Ana tried to prompt Segundo to confess, but he said nothing. A recording of that call would later be played for the jury. 2  STATE v. SEGUNDO Decision of the Court ¶6 Segundo met a woman in early 2018 who had two daughters, Sandra and Gina. They all moved in together that October. Sandra ¶7 When Sandra was thirteen or fourteen, Segundo entered her bedroom, forced her to undress, fondled her breasts, masturbated himself, put his hand on her inner thigh and ejaculated onto her. A different time, Segundo forced Sandra into a bathroom and made her masturbate him. The State charged him with sexual abuse, public sexual indecency, aggravated assault and molestation of a child for those acts. Gina ¶8 Gina was seven or eight years old when Segundo took her into the garage, used her hand to masturbate himself and ejaculated onto her. Sandra walked into the gara