09 Oct Jury Finds Martinez Guilty of Capital Murder in Death of San Benito Police Officer

A Cameron County jury on Thursday found Rogelio Martinez guilty of capital murder of a peace officer in the 2023 shooting death of San Benito Police Lt. Milton Resendez.

Jurors deliberated three hours and 15 minutes after the four-day trial. Martinez, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, had shown no visible reaction earlier in the week when jurors watched body-camera footage of officers trying to save Resendez.

The same jury returns Oct. 19 to decide whether Martinez gets the death penalty or life in prison without parole. The state is seeking death.

Resendez’s wife, Melissa, was embraced by San Benito officers after the verdict. In a statement posted on the city’s website, Police Chief Mario Perea said the verdict “brings a sense of accountability” and sent a message that violence against law enforcement won’t be tolerated in the county. He thanked District Attorney Luis V. Saenz and his team, along with the other agencies that backed the department. The city said Resendez spent more than 30 years in law enforcement, and that it will keep supporting his family and the department as the case moves into the punishment phase.

In closing arguments, prosecutors said Martinez was the passenger in the vehicle and the one who fired the fatal shot, according to MyRGV. They pointed to officer testimony, dash cam video and aerial surveillance from the second chase. Texas Ranger Patrick O’Connor testified that the driver’s window in the vehicle couldn’t be lowered, and prosecutors said there were no bullet holes in it. They also said the 9mm handgun matched shell casings at the scene and the bullet recovered from Resendez. It was found on the passenger side, where prosecutors said Martinez told investigators he fired from, and that he confessed in an interview after his arrest.

Saenz reminded jurors of Resendez’s final words over the radio, “I’m hit.” He told them Martinez shot because he hated police and stopped only when he ran out of ammunition, and asked them to send a message to anyone who kills officers in Cameron County.

The defense argued the case wasn’t proven. Attorneys said Martinez’s DNA wasn’t on the gun, and that Rodrigo Axel Espinosa Valdez, the older co-defendant, had a warrant for gun smuggling into Mexico and the weapon was found in his pouch. They said jurors never heard from Espinosa Valdez, who pleaded guilty to a lesser murder charge and was expected to testify, and still don’t know what happened inside the vehicle. Attorney Ed Cyganiewicz said that even if his client fired, it was to make police back off, not to kill. He asked jurors to consider lesser charges of murder or manslaughter.

Saenz told jurors Espinosa Valdez will be sentenced by a jury and faces five to 99 years or life in prison.