Man charged in Father's Day murder will spend almost two decades behind bars

Rick Pfeiffer, Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
·2 min read

May 8—LOCKPORT — A Falls man is on his way to prison for the next 19 years for gunning down another man in a Father's Day 2020 encounter.

Niagara County Court Judge Matthew J. Murphy III handed down the sentence Friday to Brian Martinez-Torres on Friday.

Martinez-Torres, 28, had pleaded guilty to a count of first-degree manslaughter in the death of Maurice Hill. He was originally indicted by a Niagara County grand jury on a charge of second-degree murder.

Falls Police patrol officers said they responded, just before 11 a.m. on June 21, to a home in the 3100 block of Ninth Street for a report of a man shot. When the officers arrived at the scene, they said they found Hill, 47, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the chest, on the front walk of the home.

Investigators later said Hill had been shot five times by a rifle-wielding Martinez-Torres. Detectives said that Hill and Martinez-Torres "disliked" each other and that the dislike had led to an argument between the men which then triggered the shooting.

Martinez-Torres' defense attorney had suggested that his client killed Hill because he feared for his life. But Attorney Michael Deal admitted Martinez-Torres actions where "not self-defense in New York."

Hill was rushed to the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo after the shooting and was taken into surgery. He remained in critical condition until three days later when he died as a result of his wounds.

Witnesses to the shooting, including Hill's mother, told investigators that the gunman had fled from the crime scene in a red or burgundy colored mid-2000's Ford Taurus. Five days later, on June 26, after a manhunt that involved members of the local U.S. Marshals Felony Fugitive Task Force and Falls police detectives, Martinez-Torres, was located in an apartment in the 600 block of Ninth Street.

He surrendered to the agents and detectives without incident.

Martinez-Torres said nothing at his sentencing, though Deal indicated that his client had expressed "remorse" and "sorrow" for his actions.

Hill's mother, who spoke to Murphy before the sentence was imposed, told Martinez-Torres that she forgave him. She told him, "God has something for you."