NEWS Staff report
BROWNSVILLE—Two weeks after a jury found Rogelio Martinez, Jr. guilty of Capital Murder in the 2023 shooting death of San Benito Police Lt. Milton Resendez, the same jury returned to recommend the death penalty for Martinez after a week of grueling testimony during the sentencing phase of the proceedings.
Throughout the week, jurors heard from Martinez’s family members, including his aunts, his father, Texas Child Protective Services caseworkers, and a clinical psychologist who described Martinez’s upbringing as difficult. Martinez’s father, Rogelio Martinez, Sr., cried while testifying as he discussed failing his son.
Martinez’s aunts told jurors that his conviction was a mistake and that his issues were the cause of the abuse he faced from his grandmother, who was his caregiver while he was being raised. His grandmother is now deceased.
Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz went on the offensive, accusing the aunts of being disingenuous and blaming Martinez’s behavior on a woman who isn’t around to defend herself.
“The priority has always been to secure justice for Lieutenant Resendez, whom I like to call Milton, and his family. They deserve it. It’s been a long three years. It’s a wound that will never heal, but it brings us a little bit of closure now,” San Benito Police Chief Mario Perea told the media outside the courtroom shortly after the sentence was announced.
Previously, it took a Cameron County jury only three and a half hours to find Martinez, Jr. guilty of Capital Murder after the state and defense concluded closing arguments.
Martinez returned to the courtroom on Monday, Oct. 19, for sentencing, with life in prison or the death penalty on the table.
Martinez, of Brownsville, had pleaded not guilty, accused of firing the fatal shot that killed Resendez during a pursuit that began on South Padre Island.
The case stems from an October 17, 2023, incident that began when a Cameron County Parks officer stopped a pickup truck for allegedly speeding on the beach at South Padre Island. Authorities say the vehicle fled, prompting a pursuit through Port Isabel and into Brownsville.
Several hours later, authorities located the suspects in a second vehicle, triggering a second pursuit that eventually reached 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 later died from his injuries.
Martinez faced charges that included 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.
Resendez was 54 when he died and had spent decades in law enforcement. He was the first San Benito police officer killed in the line of duty.
During the weeklong testimony during Martinez’s trial, jurors heard from fellow first responders who were at the scene, a forensic pathologist, a forensic firearms analyst, and a Texas Ranger who interviewed the suspect.
The defense claimed Martinez was not the shooter, but later in the week, that claim was arguably contradicted by Martinez’s own words when jurors were shown a recorded interview conducted after he was apprehended by law enforcement in Brownsville.
In that video interview, Martinez said that although he may have wielded a weapon, he fired it indiscriminately without the intent to hit Resendez, and that his intent was to have law enforcement retreat from the chase.
The state also called Dr. Elizabeth J. Miller, the Cameron County forensic pathologist; Norma Luna, a Texas Department of Public Safety forensic firearms analyst; and Texas Ranger Patrick O’Connor.
O’Connor interviewed Martinez’s sister, who was at the scene when officers stopped Martinez and Valdez on South Padre Island. She, another woman, and the children at the scene were dropped off in Port Isabel as the initial chase intensified.
Martinez was on probation for theft at the time, prompting him to flee and fire on law enforcement. He later showed police where the firearms involved in the shooting were discarded.
O’Connor said Martinez was about 10-12 feet from Resendez’s vehicle when he fired the fatal shots.
Resendez graduated from San Benito High School in 1987 and attended Rangerville Elementary and 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 served with the Brownsville, Palm Valley, and San Benito CISD Police Departments. In total, he served more than 30 years in law enforcement.
He’s survived by his wife, Melissa, whom he met while attending Texas Southmost College, as well as by his siblings and numerous nieces and nephews.
According to his obituary, he and Melissa were married for 27 years when he died.