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BROWNSVILLE — Jurors on Wednesday observed a dramatic exchange between an aunt of a 21-year-old man convicted of killing a San Benito police officer and Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz.
Rogelio Martinez’s aunt, Victoria Ortiz, testified that she didn’t know what her nephew was convicted of, and after being shown a photo of Lt. Milton Resendez and informed that jurors convicted her nephew of killing the man, she told jurors she disagrees with their verdict.
Her testimony, under cross examination by Saenz, became tense as the district attorney accused her of being dishonest and disparaging her late mother, Martha Gonzalez.
Ortiz, who stayed composed during her testimony, told Saenz that she’s only here to tell the truth and to help her nephew.
In response, Saenz asked why she never visited her nephew in jail after his arrest like his grandmother did.
Her brief testimony on the stand was much like that of her sister, Maria Granados, as she described her mother as abusive and neglectful to her and her siblings, and to Martinez and his sister.
The first witness of the day was Dr. Daniel Murray, a clinical psychologist with a specialty in forensic psychology.
Murray conducted an evaluation on Martinez to determine whether he has a future risk of violence if he’s to spend the rest of his life in prison.
In order for the jury to sentence Marintez to death, jurors need to find that he has a probability of future criminal violence that poses a risk to society.
Murray testified that, in his opinion, it is unlikely Martinez poses a future risk of violence in prison.
Wednesday marked the third day of testimony in the sentencing phase of Martinez’s trial as prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Following deliberations that lasted three hours and 15 minutes on Oct. 8, jurors found Martinez guilty of murdering Resendez on Oct. 17, 2023.
Resendez was killed that day following an hourslong pursuit that stretched from South Padre Island to Brownsville to San Benito, where the veteran of the city’s police department was shot.
Martinez’s co-defendant, 26-year-old Mexican national Rodrigo Axel Espinosa Valdez, previously pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of murder. Martinez, meanwhile, pleaded not guilty.
On Monday, the first day of testimony, the jury heard from Saenz and defense attorney Rigo Flores, the latter who told jurors they would hear from numerous witnesses and experts that will show there is sufficient mitigation for Martinez to serve life in prison without parole.
Then, on Tuesday, the jury were informed of Martinez’s upbringing that included a host of problems such as mental illness, abuse, neglect and poverty.
Dr. Antolin Llorente, a court-appointed neuropsychologist who evaluated Martinez, told jurors records show the man had more than 75 interactions with Child Protective Services, starting when he was just 4 months old.
The jury also heard from Maria Granados, Martinez’s aunt and Ortiz’s sister, who took the stand where she spoke of the difficult, neglectful and abusive upbringing she and her siblings endured from Martinez’s grandmother, Martha Gonzalez.