By DIANTÉ MARIGNY
editor@sbnewspaper.com
A jury has been selected for the capital murder trial of a Brownsville man accused of the 2023 shooting death of San Benito Police Lt. Milton Resendez, following a pursuit that began on South Padre Island.
Twelve jurors and three alternates have been selected for the trial of Rogelio Martinez Jr., with testimony set to begin Oct. 5 in Cameron County, according to court records. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, and Martinez has pleaded not guilty.
The case stems from an Oct. 17, 2023, incident that began when a Cameron County park officer stopped a pickup for allegedly speeding on the beach at South Padre Island. Authorities say the vehicle fled, pursued by officers through Port Isabel and into Brownsville.
Several hours later, authorities located the suspects in another vehicle, and a second pursuit began, eventually reaching San Benito.
Resendez joined the pursuit and was struck by gunfire that entered his patrol vehicle on the driver’s side. He was transported to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Martinez faces capital murder of a peace officer, along with six counts of attempted capital murder of a peace officer and two counts of evading arrest. He was 18 at the time of the shooting.
Co-defendant Rodrigo Axel Espinosa Valdez previously pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of murder and is expected to testify when Martinez’s trial begins.
Resendez was 54 and had spent decades in law enforcement. He was the first San Benito police officer to be killed in the line of duty.
“There are good cases, and there are weak cases, but there’s no such thing as an open-and-shut case,” Saenz said during a vigil held at San Benito’s Heavin Park, remembering the fallen officer shortly after his death. “I’ve lost cases we’re supposed to win, and we’ve won cases we’re supposed to lose; you just never know, but we’ve got to be careful in this case. It’s a police officer who lost his life, and we’ll take our time doing what we have to do. We will move on it accordingly and in a timely manner, but we have to be very cautious about the entire process.”
Resendez was a product of San Benito public schools, graduating from San Benito High School in 1987 and attending Rangerville Elementary, as well as Miller Jordan and Berta Cabaza middle schools.
He later attended Texas Southmost College and the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council Police Academy. Before joining the SBPD, Resendez worked for the Brownsville Police Department, the Palm Valley Police Department, and the San Benito CISD Police Department. In total, he served more than 30 years in law enforcement.
Resendez was born September 2, 1969, to Milton and Susana M. Resendez, who preceded him in death.
He’s survived by his wife, Melissa, whom he met while attending Texas Southmost College, as well as his siblings and numerous nieces and nephews. According to his obituary, he and Melissa were married for 27 years at the time of his death.