Martinez convicted of capital murder in Springdale gang killing, given life sentence

Martinez
Martinez

FAYETTEVILLE -- A Springdale man showed no emotion or remorse when told Wednesday he will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing Jimmy Rodriguez.

A jury Wednesday morning convicted Rodolfo Alberto Martinez, 21, of capital murder, two counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle and three counts of committing a terroristic act in the drive-by slaying April 11, 2015, in Springdale.

Concurrent, Consecutive Sentences

When sentences run concurrently, defendants serve all the sentences at the same time. When sentences run consecutively, defendants have to finish serving the sentence for one offense before they start serving the sentence for any other offense.

Source: nolo.com

Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay chastised Martinez for his attitude before and during the trial.

"Many times in our justice system it is possible to make the victim whole. But, in this case, I cannot put the victim back in the place where he was. You have taken something from him that cannot be given back, it cannot be given back to his family," Lindsay said. "Number one, I hope that you bear that in mind while you're in (prison) and number two, I hope that you will find some way to show remorse for what you have done because you have not shown any yet."

Police and prosecutors said the shooting was gang-related retaliation, but Rodriguez, 20, wasn't the target. The man police said Martinez wanted to kill wasn't there when he and three other teens drove up in front of a house and started shooting.

Washington County Prosecutor Matt Durrett said the outcome of the case should serve as a warning to aspiring gang members in Northwest Arkansas.

"If nothing else, it should send a message that if you go out and do something like this, whatever the police department, they're going to come after you and no one is going to just let it pass," Durrett said. "I think those jurors sent a message that this community is not going to tolerate this type of stuff."

Durrett praised Springdale police for their work on the case.

"While all homicides are the highest priority for any agency, when you've got what appears to be a lot of gang retaliation going on, that can spiral right out of control," Durrett said. "They were able to get it under control and they did a fabulous job in this case. This conviction is really because of them. We got the ball across the goal line, Springdale PD got it there."

The capital murder conviction came with an automatic sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors had waived the death penalty against Martinez. An additional seven years was added for using a firearm.

The nine men and three women on the jury recommended an additional 50 years on the counts of discharging a firearm and terroristic acts, although it was academic in light of the life sentence.

Rodriguez' sister, Marvelia, told jurors during the sentencing phase Rodriguez worked hard, looked after his family and got along with people because he had a lovable personality. He and his girlfriend were expecting a child when he was killed, she said.

Mindy Walker, Martinez' case worker when he was a juvenile, told jurors when Martinez was a teenager he and his brothers were removed from their home and committed to the state Division of Youth Services for three years because there was no family support. Martinez had to repay his family for clothing, medical care and other items, Walker said. Martinez had wanted to join the military or go to college, Walker said. She helped him find a job at one point.

"Those boys felt like they were basically worthless and had no help," she said.

Three other people were charged in the fatal drive-by at 609 Savage St. Jose Delatorre and Giovanni Vasquez-Sanchez, both 20, are awaiting trial. The killing happened three days before Vasquez-Sanchez turned 18, and he was charged as an adult.

The third was a 13-year-old juvenile. State law prohibits the release of information about juvenile arrest records and court proceedings.

NW News on 08/17/2017

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