SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 11, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office has announced a guilty plea in the 2020 shooting death of a handyman working near the residence of defendant Jesus Adolfo Valdez, Jr.
West Valley City emergency responders were dispatched to the Valdez residence, in West Valley City, and found victim Melbin Martinez, shot three times and not breathing. Martinez was declared dead at the scene.
“During the investigation, detectives learned that Mr. Martinez, a handyman, had been working on the exterior of the residence next to the defendant’s home prior to his death,” says a statement issued Wednesday by the SLCo DA’s Office.
“Detectives were told by one witness that when she arrived at the residence, she saw the victim on the ground and Mr. Valdez Jr. driving away on a motorcycle. Detectives found some spent shell casings near Mr. Martinez’s body and discovered a gun under the center console of a nearby vehicle. That gun had the same ammunition in it as the spent shell casing. DNA collected from the pistol grip of the gun was identified as the defendant’s.”
The father of Valdez told officers that he had been at work when his son became angry with Valdez Sr.’s wife, “which led to the defendant breaking a television and bedroom door,” the DA’s statement says. “When Mr. Valdez Sr. came home, he saw his son breaking up the broken items into smaller pieces to fit into a garbage can. Mr. Valdez Sr. yelled at the defendant, then went inside for 30-40 minutes.
“During this time, Mr. Valdez Sr. saw the defendant pacing between the carport and the backyard. Mr. Valdez Sr. saw the defendant leave on his motorcycle after Mr. Martinez’s body was found and police had been called. A motive for the murder was never determined.”
Today, the DA’s Office announced that on Monday, Valdez Jr. pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree felony murder in the fatal shooting of Martinez.
“We mourn the loss of Melbin Martinez at the hands of the defendant and hope this conviction provides some measure of justice for his family and loved ones,” SLCo DA Sim Gill said in the released statement.
“We appreciate the cooperation of the family of the defendant that helped ensure accountability in the death of Mr. Martinez, an innocent handyman with no connection to the defendant besides working next door.
“We thank our prosecutors Brad Cooley, Breanne Miller, Ryan Hansen, and our support staff for their years working on this case. We appreciate the work of detectives with West Valley City Police Department who conducted the investigation and helped lead to the charges being filed and the final conviction.”
