California man sentenced to life for killing girlfriend with AR-15 following argument
06/27/2022 11:33 am PDT
TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (TCD) -- A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to prison for the 2019 murder of his girlfriend.
According to a news release from the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office, on Oct. 5, 2019, Anthony Martin and his girlfriend of two years got into a verbal dispute while driving to her home in Visalia. Upon their arrival, Martin reportedly told his girlfriend to grab his AR-15 rifle.
During their argument, the D.A.’s Office says Martin threatened his girlfriend and choked her, and "when Martin left, his girlfriend called a friend and said the relationship was over." The girlfriend reportedly assembled Martin’s belongings at her home and dropped them off on his porch. Martin reportedly followed her back home while she was driving.
According to the D.A.’s office, Martin arrived at her home, and he told her that she did not return all of his belongings.
The girlfriend’s roommate ordered Martin to leave, and he walked out of the front door. Martin turned, and then "fired four shots through a metal security door, with one shot hitting her in the neck and shrapnel from another hitting her leg," the D.A.’s Office says.
The victim’s neighbor overheard the shots and reportedly saw Martin leaving the home at high speed. Upon law enforcement’s arrival, the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the D.A.’s Office, authorities located Martin’s storage locker, where he stored the illegally modified rifle. Martin was eventually found via cellphone pings outside his place of work.
On April 12, Martin was convicted of second-degree murder with the special allegation of personal use of firearm causing death, and possession of an assault weapon.
On June 24, the D.A.’s Office announced that Martin was sentenced to life in prison.
According to California law, "Martin must serve no more than 42 years in prison before being eligible for parole. However due to his age at the time of the crime (20), Martin is eligible for a Youth Offender Parole Hearing under AB 1308 (2018) after 25 years of incarceration," according to the D.A.’s Office.
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