Santa Rosa man receives life sentence for burying body, posing as kidnapper
(KRON) — A Santa Rosa man, Juan Antonio Martinez, 35, received a 20-year-to-life sentence after pleading guilty to charges of second-degree murder and extortion posing as a kidnapper, Sonoma District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said on Thursday.
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“Mr. Martinez’s callous behavior both in murdering the victim and later, when attempting to extort the victim’s girlfriend, warrant the life sentence in state prison,” Rodriguez said.
The murder occurred on June 10, 2022, when Martinez and the victim, Deydhy Jordy Silverio-Castro, were out car shopping.
By the end of the shopping excursion, Martinez shot Castro in the head, stole $15,000 from him, and buried his body in a shallow grave, prosecutors said.
Several days after the shooting, Martinez posed as a kidnapper and extorted $165,000 from Castro’s girlfriend, who had reported him as missing at the time.
Martinez “eventually” confessed and led investigators to Castro’s body, prosecutors said.
Following a victim impact statement by Castro’s girlfriend, the court acknowledged that Castro “did not deserve to die” and that “Mr. Martinez robbed [Castro] of his future.”
According to prosecutors, Ramirez refused to attend his hearing in person and attended his hearing over Zoom through his cellphone at the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility.
On Feb. 6, Martinez entered a plea of no contest to one count of second-degree murder and admitted to personally using a firearm. He also pled no contest to one count of extortion by posing as a kidnapper, prosecutors said.
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