SANTA ANA — A 42-year-old man was convicted Thursday of gunning down the reportedly abusive boyfriend of one of his associates in a Stanton motel.
Joel Brandon Martinez was convicted of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of a gun by a felon, all felonies. Jurors also found true a sentencing enhancement for discharge of a gun causing death.
Co-defendants Gilbert Timothy Ramirez and Brandon Garet Iseminger have accepted plea deals. Ramirez was sentenced in March of last year to 10 years and four months in prison while Iseminger is awaiting sentencing.
Co-defendant Amy Lynn Black is awaiting trial on one count of murder and two counts of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to sell, all felonies.
Martinez, who is scheduled to be sentenced April 19, was convicted of fatally shooting 35-year-old Carlos Beltran Aguilar on the afternoon of Aug. 26, 2019, in the Villa Motel, 11672 Beach Blvd.
In the days leading up to the shooting, Black sent multiple angry text messages to two friends complaining about Aguilar. She also sent messages to Martinez and Aguilar that pointed to her desire to have the victim killed, Senior Deputy District Attorney Alexa Elliott said in her opening statement of the trial.
Black was suspicious Aguilar was cheating with an ex-girlfriend, Elliott said.
On the night before the killing, Black sent a string of angry text messages to Aguilar, but he did not respond, Elliott said.
The next morning, Aguilar showed up at her motel and the two feuded so loudly it woke up a neighbor elsewhere in the motel, the prosecutor said. The neighbor “hears Amy Black say, `I want to kill you,”‘ Elliott said.
Aguilar rode his bike away while Black ran after him hollering at him, “I’m going to make sure you’re dead,” Elliott said.
Then Black sent a message to Martinez seeking help.
Later, on the day of the killing, Martinez, Iseminger and Ramirez got to the motel about 1:11 p.m. and Martinez went in, Elliott said. Ramirez and Iseminger went in and out for the first few minutes, but then left the three alone in the room, where a gunshot could be heard, Elliott said.
Martinez, Iseminger and Ramirez then fled the scene while Black’s dog dashed out of the room, Elliott said. Black, meanwhile, tried to call back the dog, then turned her attention to gathering some belongings to put in a bag that she handed to someone to throw out before police arrived, Elliott said.
All the while Black could be seen on surveillance video stepping over her estranged lover’s body, Elliott said.
Black told police Martinez jumped on the bed, pointed the gun at the victim and killed him, Elliott said. The victim was shot once, Elliott said.
Martinez had supplied heroin and methamphetamine to Black to sell out of the motel room where she had been staying, Elliott said.
