EDINBURG — The mastermind behind a brutal 2017 revenge killing of a 32-year-old Edinburg man will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Gabino Salinas, 37, was convicted of capital murder and possession of marijuana last Tuesday after a six-day trial over the killing of Jose Angel Martinez, who was beaten and then dragged by Salinas’ white Jeep Grand Cherokee before having his throat slit and his body dismembered on Nov. 8, 2017.
State District Judge Rose Guerra Reyna sentenced Salinas to life without parole for the capital murder charge and two years for possession of marijuana.
Salinas showed no reaction to the sentence while a woman who had been attending the trial began crying in the gallery.
The trial included about 16 witnesses and over 300 exhibits were entered into evidence.
Prosecutor Ana Liz DeLeon-Vargas set the stage for the trial when she accused Salinas of revenge as his motive for killing Martinez, telling the jury that Salinas believed the victim was behind a home invasion that occurred earlier that year which resulted in him losing a leg after being shot.
The state told jurors that while Salinas had help with the kidnapping and murder, he was the mastermind calling the shots.
The details of that drug-fueled night were revealed through Ricardo Moreno’s testimony, who lived with Martinez and was also kidnapped and forced to commit atrocious acts of violence to Martinez’s body after he was deceased, including dismembering his roommate’s body.
Salinas’ ex-wife, Maria Patino, testified that he had assaulted her the day of the killing during which Salinas dropped two live rounds and a small bag of cocaine that fell out of his pocket, though details of the assault were kept from the jury as the defense said it would “poison” his image.
A ranch hand who witnessed the dismemberment also testified before the court telling the jurors that Salinas was the one calling all the shots.
Jurors witnessed video evidence provided by a home in Edinburg which depicted a person being dragged by a vehicle down the road as well as bloody crime scene photos.
Investigator Miguel Lopez also testified how police managed to find and arrest Salinas and 25-year-old co-defendant Benjamin Chavez Sanchez.
Forensic expert, Norma Jean Farley, who conducted Martinez’s autopsy, testified that she couldn’t determine his cause of death and ruled it as homicidal violence with blunt force injuries due to the body’s condition.
Both the state and defense rested their cases after a former customer of Martinez, Luis Miguel “Flaco” Garza, testified his experience the night of the killing, including how Salinas tried to force him to help in the crime before Garza was able to escape.
Prior to jury deliberations, Guerra Reyna dropped two of Salinas’ initial charges of aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping due to “impossible” dates in the indictments.
The jury were sent home to return for deliberation the following morning.
Salinas was found guilty on both counts of capital murder and possession of marijuana after about four hours of deliberation by the jury Tuesday afternoon.
Chavez, 32-year-old Sandy Lutz and 48-year-old Hector Ruben Guerra are also facing charges of capital murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault of Martinez’s murder.
The trio has entered not guilty pleas to the charges.
