Illegal immigrant linked to multiple murders allegedly stole victims' jewelry, court
Illegal immigrant linked to multiple murders allegedly stole victims' jewelry, court docs say
14 hrs ago
By Ryan Gaydos | Fox News
An illegal immigrant linked to four murders in Nevada allegedly pawned jewelry that belonged to at least two of the victims, officials said.
Wilbur Martinez-Guzman, 19, was held on immigration charges Saturday after investigators linked him to the four killings in Carson City. He was expected to be formally charged in the murders on Thursday, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Martinez-Guzman, an El Salvador national, was charged with nine counts of burglary-related charges, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported Wednesday, citing court documents. Stolen items from the victims included an Elks ring with a blue stone that was engraved with one of the victims’ initials, two gold diamond rings, 16 silver rings, toe rings and turquoise rings, the newspaper reported.
He allegedly tried to pawn the items at a coin shop on different occasions.
Gerald David, 81, a former Reno rodeo boss, and his wife Sharon David, 80, were found dead last week in Reno. In Gardnerville, Connie Koontz, 56, was found dead Jan. 10 and Sophia Renken, 74, was found dead three days later. The killings all took place within a one week span.
Investigators searched a home associated with Martinez-Guzman Sunday, the Gazette-Journal reported.
Police believe Martinez-Guzman came to northern Nevada about a year ago, according to the newspaper.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/illegal-i...court-docs-say
$500K bail for Salvadoran held in Nevada cases
Jan 24, 2019 Updated 4 hrs ago
https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.town...ize=1200%2C870
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The Latest on the killings of four people in Nevada over the past two weeks (all times local):
2:55 p.m.
A judge has set bail at $500,000 for a 19-year-old from El Salvador accused of possessing weapons and pawning property stolen from victims in four northern Nevada killings.
A prosecutor in Carson City characterized the case against Wilber Martinez-Guzman on Thursday as "not your run-of-the-mill property crime." Melanie Brantingham noted that most of the items Martinez-Guzman is accused of possessing and selling belonged to homicide victims.
Martinez-Guzman wasn't charged with murder and wasn't asked to enter a plea at his initial court appearance following his arrest last Saturday.
Prosecutors in Douglas and Washoe counties say they plan to file murder charges against Martinez-Guzman in the coming days.
Judge Thomas Armstrong set another court hearing Feb. 8 to determine if the Carson City case should proceed to trial on felony and misdemeanor burglary, stolen property and other charges.
Martinez-Guzman also faces felony allegations that because he's in the U.S. illegally he was prohibited from having 12 guns stolen from a Reno couple found dead Jan. 16.
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2:25 p.m.
A judge is reading aloud each of the 36 charges against a 19-year-old from El Salvador accused of possessing weapons and pawning property stolen from victims of four killings in northern Nevada in the last two weeks.
Wilber Martinez-Guzman is answering "yes" in Spanish as Justice of the Peace Thomas Armstrong asks if he understands each charge.
Martinez-Guzman earlier corrected the spelling of his first name as Wilber with an "e''.
Martinez-Guzman isn't being charged with murder at his initial court appearance on Thursday.
Prosecutors in Douglas and Washoe counties say they plan to file murder charges against Martinez-Guzman in coming days.
In Carson City, he faces felony and misdemeanor charges that he possessed and pawned stolen property.
He also faces felony allegations that because he's in the U.S. illegally he was prohibited from having 12 guns stolen from a Reno couple found dead Jan. 16.
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2:15 p.m.
A 19-year-old from El Salvador suspected of killing four people in northern Nevada is facing a Carson City judge in a case alleging he possessed weapons and pawned property stolen from victims.
With a Spanish-language interpreter, Wilber Martinez-Guzman corrected the spelling of his first name as Wilber with an "e''.
It is listed charging documents as Wilbur, but authorities have said it was listed on his passport as Wilber.
Martinez-Guzman isn't being charged with murder at his initial court appearance Thursday.
Prosecutors in Douglas and Washoe counties say they plan to file murder charges against Martinez-Guzman in coming days.
In Carson City, he faces felony and misdemeanor charges that he possessed and pawned stolen property.
He also faces felony allegations that because he's in the U.S. illegally, he was prohibited from having 12 guns stolen from a Reno couple found dead Jan. 16.
————
12:30 p.m.
Prosecutors in Nevada have added 24 felony weapon charges to a criminal case alleging that a 19-year-old from El Salvador suspected of killing four people possessed and pawned property stolen from three of the victims.
A criminal complaint filed just hours ahead of Wilbur Martinez-Guzman's initial court appearance in Carson City doesn't charge him with murder.
It focuses instead on possession and sale of stolen property and alleges that because he is in the U.S. illegally he was prohibited from having 12 guns stolen from a Reno couple found dead Jan. 16.
In addition to jewelry stolen from two victims, Martinez-Guzman is accused of possessing a stolen computer, golf clubs and hand and power tools.
Prosecutors in Douglas and Washoe counties, where the slaying victims lived, say they plan to file murder charges against Martinez-Guzman in the coming days.
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11:05 a.m.
A pawn shop owner says a suspect in the killings of four people in northern Nevada used his passport for identification to sell jewelry believed to be stolen from two of the victims.
Northern Nevada Coin owner Allen Rowe said Thursday that 19-year-old Wilbur Martinez-Guzman didn't speak English well, but nothing made store employees think the sales were odd or weird. Authorities have said Martinez-Guzman is from El Salvador and was in the United States illegally.
Rowe says routine paperwork that goes to local sheriffs, along with store video led investigators to arrest Martinez-Guzman last weekend.
Court documents filed ahead of Martinez-Guzman's first court appearance on Thursday in Carson City allege that he sold rings belonging to a woman found dead Jan. 10 and a man found dead Jan. 16.
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10 p.m.
Neighbors are nervous in northern Nevada, where four people were killed this month in slayings that officials blame on a 19-year-old from El Salvador said to be in the U.S. illegally.
Authorities in Nevada and President Donald Trump in Washington are blaming the four killings over a six-day span on Wilbur Ernesto Martinez-Guzman, who was arrested Saturday in Carson City.
On Thursday, Martinez-Guzman is due in a Carson City court on property crime charges alleging he sold victims' property at pawn shops.
Prosecutors in Douglas and Washoe counties, where the victims lived, say they're preparing to file murder charges in coming days.
The victims' neighbors have boosted security around their homes with new alarms, floodlights and cameras.
https://www.bdtonline.com/news/the-l...555a5fc99.html
Illegal immigrant accused in Nevada killings charged with 4 counts of murder
3 hrs ago
By Samuel Chamberlain | Fox News
A 19-year-old Salvadoran immigrant has been charged with murder in the deaths of four people in northern Nevada earlier this month, prosecutors announced Monday.
Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman also has been charged with five counts of burglary in the latest criminal complaint, which was filed to a court in Reno along with an affidavit and warrant for his arrest.
Martinez-Guzman has been in prison since his arrest in Carson City on a federal immigration hold Jan. 19. Investigators said he's the only suspect in the murders of 56-year-old Connie Koontz, 74-year-old Sophia Renken and married couple Gerald and Sharon David, who were 81 and 80, respectively.
https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxne....jpg?ve=1&tl=1
Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman, 19, made his initial court appearance in Carson City Thursday. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)
Martinez-Guzman had worked for a landscaping company at the Davids' property for four months, ending last July. It was not immediately clear if the job linked him to Koontz or David.
At a news conference Monday, Douglas County District Attorney Mark Jackson said Martinez-Guzman broke into "outbuildings" on the sprawling David property on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 and made off with a cache of rifles and a .22-caliber revolver. The prosecutor added that the suspect used the handgun to kill Koontz and David in their homes in Gardnerville, south of Carson City. Koontz was found dead Jan. 10. Renken's body was found Jan. 13.
According to the affidavit, Martinez-Guzman admitted to a Washoe County detective that he killed the Davids and the document alleges that his DNA was found on the gun used to kill Koontz and Renken. A .22-caliber bullet with DNA matching Martinez-Guzman was also found on the floor of the Davids' kitchen.
A report filed with a Carson City judge says that the gun was recovered from a 2006 BMW 325i Martinez-Guzman was driving when he was arrested. The car was registered to Martinez-Guzman's mother, Sonia Guzman, who was questioned by immigration authorities following her son's arrest and given a hearing date.
Martinez-Guzman previously was arraigned in Carson City last Thursday on felony counts of burglary and possession of stolen property, as well as weapons charges. He was accused of possessing weapons and pawning property stolen from the victims and was ordered held on $500,000 bail with a preliminary hearing on those charges set for Feb. 8.
Martinez-Guzman will be held without bail in Washoe County, District Attorney Chris Hicks told reporters. The suspect is to be prosecuted for all four murders in Reno and Hicks and Jackson plan to lead the prosecution personally.
"His conviction is our highest priority," said Hicks, who added that it could be 30 days before prosecutors decide whether to pursue the death penalty.
The case has drawn national attention, with President Trump tweeting last week that the murders showed the need for his proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall, which was at the center of the recent partial government shutdown.
Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said earlier that Martinez-Guzman's only known contact with authorities was a speeding ticket last February.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/illegal-i...unts-of-murder
Salvadoran Accused of 4 Nevada Killings Worked for 2 Victims
Salvadoran accused of 4 Nevada killings worked for 2 victims
RENO, Nev. — A 19-year-old Salvadoran man suspected of being in the country illegally was charged Monday with killing four people in Nevada, including a couple who employed him as a landscaper at their Reno home where he fatally shot them with a gun he stole from them earlier, authorities said.
Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman told investigators he used a .22-caliber revolver stolen from the property of 81-year-old Gerald David and 80-year-oldSharon David less than two weeks before he killed them on Jan. 16.
"The lady was coming out. I got scared and shot at her,"Martinez-Guzman is quoted telling a Washoe County detective in an affidavit filed in Reno on Monday. It alleged that he first broke into"out buildings" or a trailer on the sprawling David property on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 and made off with a cache of rifles and the handgun.
Martinez-Guzman had worked for a landscaping company at the Davids'property for four months, ending last July. It was not immediately clear if the job linked him to two women he is accused of killing in nearby Gardnerville.
The affidavit was used to obtain an arrest warrant for Martinez-Guzman, who was arrested Jan. 19 in Carson City and is jailed there on charges that he possessed weapons and other items stolen from the Davids and sold jewelry belonging to Gerald David and another victim.
Martinez-Guzman admitted also killing Gerald David, and the affidavit alleges that his DNA was found on the .22-caliber gun also used to kill Connie Koontz and Sophia Renken in their homes. Koontz was found dead Jan. 10. Renken's body was found Jan. 13.
The Davids were prominent Reno Rodeo Association members, and Martinez-Guzman is accused of possessing several Western-style belt buckles bearing their names stolen from their home.
Someone using an Apple account belonging to Martinez-Guzman's mother tried to activate an Apple watch stolen from Koontz, the affidavit said.
The mother, identified in the affidavit as Sonia Guzman, hasn't been charged with a crime. She was questioned by immigration authorities following her son's arrest and was given a hearing date, Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said.
Guzman was the registered owner of a 2006 BMW 325i that Martinez-Guzman was driving when he was arrested, and in which authorities say they found the murder weapon.
The .22-caliber revolver was recovered from the car, and the affidavit said a .22-caliber bullet with DNA matching Martinez-Guzman was found on the kitchen floor at the David home.
Douglas County District Attorney Mark Jackson told reporters Monday that investigators in Douglas and Washoe counties had "a high level of confidence" that Martinez-Guzman acted alone in the killings.
Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks refused to comment on his immigration status.
President Donald Trump tweeted a week ago that the four killings in Nevada showed the need for his proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall, which was at the center of the federal government shutdown.
"What someone's status is in this country has nothing to do with how we are proceeding in this case," Hicks told reporters Monday. "We are looking to hold an alleged murderer accountable for the murders he committed. That's all."
Hicks said it would be more than a month before prosecutors decide whether to pursue the death penalty against Martinez-Guzman.
The 30-day clock on that decision deadline doesn't begin until he's formally arraigned in district court on the murder charges along with five burglary charges added in the new criminal complaint.
Hicks said they intend to extradite Martinez-Guzman to Washoe County to face those charges as soon as possible and that he will be held without bail in the county jail in Reno but that his initial arraignment in Reno Justice Court has not yet been scheduled.
He's currently being held in the Carson City jail on the theft and burglary charges on $500,000 bail. His appointed public defense attorney there, Karin Kreizenbeck, has declined comment.
Furlong said earlier that Martinez-Guzman's only known contact with authorities was a speeding ticket last February.
Each of the district attorneys told reporters during a news conference in Reno on Monday they would co-prosecute the case personally as their "highest priority."
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/salvadoran-accused-of-4-nevada-killings-worked-for-2-victims/ar-BBSQN3y
Death penalty to be sought for illegal immigrant in Nevada killings
By Max Michor Las Vegas Review-Journal
March 14, 2019 - 10:38 am
Updated March 14, 2019 - 4:50 pm
Prosecutors in Douglas and Washoe counties will seek the death penalty for a 20-year-old undocumented immigrant accused of killing four people in Northern Nevada.
“We reserve the death penalty for the worst of the worst,” Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks said at a news conference Thursday. “We use it sparingly.”
Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman was indicted Wednesday on 10 counts of burglary, robbery, possession of a stolen weapon and murder.
Martinez-Guzman, an immigrant from El Salvador who entered the country illegally, is accused of shooting and killing Gerald David, 81, and his wife, Sharon, 80, in Reno and Connie Koontz, 56, and Sophia Renken, 74, in Gardnerville.
The shootings occurred during a weeklong robbery spree in January, authorities said.
Martinez-Guzman faces charges in both Washoe and Douglas Counties but was transferred to Washoe first to face the murder charges there.
The Washoe County district attorney’s office sought a grand jury indictment to expedite the trial against Martinez-Guzman, who waived his right to a preliminary hearing.
“This is a priority because of the victims, the victims’ families and the community,” Hicks said at a news conference held after Martinez-Guzman’s indictment was announced
Douglas County District Attorney Jackson said both offices were in contact with the victims’ families, who agreed with the decision.
Both offices considered Martinez-Guzman’s age and lack of criminal record when deliberating on the decision. His immigration status was not considered, Hicks said, adding that the offices were not aware of whether Martinez-Guzman had any criminal record outside the United States.
“After weighing all of the aggravating circumstances and all of the known mitigating circumstances, it was our decision that we would proceed with the death penalty,” Jackson said.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/...lings-1617933/
Illegal immigrant charged in 4 murders told police he killed because he needed money
Illegal immigrant charged in 4 murders told police he killed because he needed money for meth, official says
14 hrs ago
By Ryan Gaydos
An illegal immigrant charged with murder in the deaths of four people in Nevada earlier this year told police he committed the killings because he needed money to buy meth, a detective said Thursday.
Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman, a 20-year-old Salvadoran national living in the U.S. illegally, broke into tears and repeatedly called himself an “idiot” before confessing to the murders during an interrogation hours after his arrest in Carson City on Jan. 19, a detective told a grand jury.
Martinez-Guzman had initially denied being behind the slayings and was smiling and giggling while being interrogated, Washoe County Sheriff’s Detective Stefanie Brady told the grand jury March 13, according to transcripts obtained by the Associated Press. When confronted with several contradictions, however, he then admitted he had “done something that’s unforgivable.”
Brady said he told her that he shot his victims “because of the drugs.”
https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxne....jpg?ve=1&tl=1
FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2019 file photo, Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman, 19, of El Salvador, is escorted into the courtroom for his initial appearance in Carson City Justice Court in Carson City, Nev. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner, File)
“He said he needed the money for the meth and it was the meth,” Brady testified.
She added that Martinez made “lots of eye contact” during the early part of the interrogation and said he was initially fine without having an attorney because he was adamant he did nothing wrong.
When asked about certain items stolen from two of the murder victims, Brady said Martinez-Guzman began to cry.
“He talked about how he was an idiot. He repeated that several times,” Brady said. “He talked about how he had done something that's unforgivable.”
Martinez-Guzman was indicted last week on four counts of murder with the use of a deadly weapon, three counts of burglary while in possession of a firearm and one count each of burglary, burglary while gaining possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm, according to the Associated Press.
Federal officials have said Martinez-Guzman is in the U.S. illegally, but they don’t know when or how he came across the border. Officials said they were seeking the death penalty in the case.
Martinez-Guzman attorney had no comment after reviewing the transcripts.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/illegal-i...money-for-meth