Martinez v. State

The defendant admitted to police that he shot the victim to death because the victim kept staring at him.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Following a jury trial, Jose Guadalupe Martinez was convicted of felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the shooting death of Heligio Ramirez.1 Martinez appeals, contending that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statement to police because Martinez had not made a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of his rights before giving the statement. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and vacate in part. 1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that on December 24, 2001, Martinez attended a family party at a relative’s home. Martinez arrived at the party with his girlfriend, Erica Weaver, and went into the backyard with other guests. After being in the backyard for about a half hour, Martinez pulled out a Smith and Wesson .357 magnum handgun and shot and killed Heligio Ramirez. Two eyewitnesses at the party saw Martinez shoot Ramirez. Martinez and Ramirez did not know each other, and the eyewitnesses did not hear Martinez or Ramirez speak to each other prior to the shooting. Martinez left the party with Weaver and told her that he had shot Ramirez because Ramirez had been staring at him and looking at him “funny.”

Martinez and his girlfriend fled to Tampa, where Martinez was later arrested. Martinez admitted in his statement to police that he had shot Ramirez because Ramirez kept staring at him. Clothing matching Martinez’s at the time of the shooting, ammunition, and a Smith and Wesson .357 magnum handgun were found at Martinez’s residence. The medical examiner testified that Ramirez died from two gunshot wounds, one to his neck and one to his abdomen. A GBI firearms examiner testified that the gun recovered from Martinez’s home was the same firearm that fired the bullets recovered from Ramirez’s body.

Martinez v. State

The defendant admitted to police that he shot the victim to death because the victim kept staring at him.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report