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Probable cause affidavits for the two men accused of fatally gunning down a San Benito police officer last month say the alleged shooter confessed.
Rogelio Martinez, 18, of Brownsville, and Alex Espinosa Valdez, 23, are both charged with capital murder of a peace officer over the Oct. 17 killing of 54-year-old San Benito police Lt. Milton Resendez.
The affidavits affirm much of the timeline provided by police following their arrests, but sheds new light revealing an alleged confession and the types of firearms used in the shooting, as well as the relationship of the woman who was in the truck with two children as Martinez and Valdez led authorities on a multi-hour chase across Cameron County.
The entire chain of events began when officer Pedro Solitaire of Cameron County Park Police pulled over a GMC Sierra truck driven by Martinez.
“Martinez engaged in a struggle with Officer Solitaire near the end of Martinez’s vehicle,” the affidavit stated. “The front passenger of the red GMC Sierra truck, later identified as Rodrigo Axel Espinoza Valdez, jumped into the driver’s seat and fled the scene in a motor vehicle.”
Martinez then jumped into the truck’s bed as Espinoza sped away, according to the affidavit, which said Espinoza stopped briefly and Martinez hopped in the passenger seat.
The officer pursued and the chase that led to Resendez’s killing in San Benito began.
“Espinoza … refused to stop and drove to Brownsville without yielding to Police,” the affidavit stated.
At some point in time, Precinct 1 Deputy Constable Jesse Estrada spotted the vehicle and engaged in a pursuit.
“Officer Estrada advised me that the front passenger of the vehicle held a handgun out of the passenger window and began shooting at this patrol unit,” the affidavit stated. “Deputy Constable Estrada pulled his weapon out and returned fire at the passenger firing at him.”
Then, according to the affidavit, the front passenger — Martinez — pulled out a rifle and began shooting at him.
During the pursuit, the truck drove down a small roadway and temporarily stopped while two women carrying children jumped out of the vehicle.
“Deputy Estrada’s vehicle had been hit several times already and later became disabled,” the affidavit stated.
One of the women in the vehicle was identified as Katherine Martinez, who is Martinez’s sister.
The affidavit then says that a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper reported that he “had a projectile defect in the hood of his vehicle.”
He had engaged at one point in the pursuit and Martinez shot at him as well, according to the affidavit.
In Brownsville, police previously said the pursuit was called off for safety reasons and the affidavit said that investigators were actively pinging Martinez’s cellphone in an attempt to locate and arrest him.
“As investigators searched for Martinez and Espinoza Valdez, I was notified that Police Officers engaged in another pursuit with a different vehicle that was believed to be occupied by Rogelio Martinez and Espinoza Valdez,” the affidavit stated. “The vehicle was pursued to San Benito where multiple Officers reported that the front passenger of the vehicle was discharging a firearm again at officers in pursuit.”
The investigator who wrote the affidavit said he later learned that Martinez shot Resendez, who was rushed to the hospital where he died.
“Texas Ranger Phil Kucia assisted on the crime scene in San Benito and later confirmed that no San Benito Police Department Officers discharged their weapons at the fleeing vehicle; only the front passenger in the suspect vehicle fired his weapon,” the affidavit stated.
Then the pursuit headed back to Brownsville where a DPS trooper shot at the vehicle, hitting its tires, causing them to deflate.
“The two suspects fled on foot but were quickly apprehended,” the affidavit stated.
During an interview, the affidavit said that Martinez confessed he was the passenger who fired at all of the officers, including Resendez.
“Rogelio Martinez escorted investigators to a location in Cameron County where he hid a rifle that he used to shoot at Officers,” the affidavit stated.
That document says that Espinosa confessed to running from law enforcement as Martinez shot at pursuing officers.
