Murder trial of Nathan Martinez begins in San Antonio drive-by killing
Jury selection opened Monday in the murder trial of Nathan Martinez, accused of fatally shooting 17-year-old Julian Robledo in a 2023 drive-by. Ballistic evidence links him to a separate double murder.
San Antonio man on trial for 2023 drive-by death, linked by ballistics to double murder
Jury selection opened Monday in the murder trial of Nathan Martinez, a San Antonio man accused of killing 17-year-old Julian Junior Robledo in a drive-by shooting in August 2023, ksat.com reports. Ballistic evidence collected at three separate scenes connects Martinez to a broader string of shootings that left three people dead and five others wounded.
Martinez faces a murder charge in Robledo's death. Robledo and his mother were sitting under the carport of their home on the 2800 block of Mosscircle Drive, drinking coffee, when a gunman opened fire. Robledo died from his injuries two days later. His mother was unharmed; a woman inside the home was also wounded.
A separate capital murder charge — currently still pending — stems from a shooting on 18 June 2022 on the 2500 block of Patron Drive, where a family had gathered for a barbecue. According to the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), a dark-coloured SUV drove past the home and fired an estimated 20 to 30 rounds. Two men, Alejandro Gomez-Soliz, 45, and Juan Gomez, 46, were killed. Five others were wounded.
Investigators say matching shell casings link all three incidents. A third shooting took place at an apartment complex on the 700 block of West Mayfield Drive, also in August 2023. Although the victim there declined to cooperate with investigators, police recovered ballistic evidence at the scene that matched material from both the Mosscircle Drive and Patron Drive shootings.
SAPD investigators also identified social media posts in which Martinez allegedly boasted about "taking down a rival gang member" and described using a firearm modification known as a switch to convert a weapon to fully automatic fire.
Martinez had previously been stopped in an unrelated incident alongside two other individuals and arrested on drug and prohibited-firearm possession charges, but was subsequently released on bail. He was later arrested without incident on warrants that included capital murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and murder.
Court records identify Martinez as a known gang member. He was 18 and 19 years old when he was charged across nine cases spanning 2022 and 2023, covering offences including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, murder, and weapons-related charges.
Jury selection began on Monday, 26 October. If convicted in the current murder trial, Martinez faces up to life in prison. No trial date has yet been set for the capital murder case.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)