The prosecution has announced that it will seek the death penalty against a Salvadoran illegal immigrant who is accused of murdering four people in Nevada, including an elderly couple.
Wilber Ernesto Martinez Guzman, 20, faces a trial in Reno after authorities say he shot dead the couple inside their home in that city, and two women in their homes south of Carson City, during a streak of 10-day crimes in January.
The case has caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who says he demonstrates the need to build the wall he proposed on the border with Mexico.
The immigration status had nothing to do with the decision to seek capital punishment in the case, according to district attorneys Chris Hicks of Washoe County and Mark Jackson of Douglas County who will take the case together.
“They did not even talk about their immigration status,” Jackson said.
Hicks said that Martinez Guzman would be a candidate for the death penalty due to aggravating circumstances that include the death of more than one person during the commission of a felony in order to obtain money and other assets.
His short age and lack of criminal records in the United States and El Salvador were also taken into consideration, the prosecution said.
An investigating jury formally accused Martinez Guzman on Wednesday of charges of homicide, residency robbery and weapons charges. They will issue a statement regarding the charges during his initial appearance in state court, scheduled for April 11.
He is detained without bail in the county jail in Reno, after being accused in previous criminal complaints. The Salvadoran immigrant was arrested on January 19.
His public defense attorney, John Arrascada, did not immediately respond to the messages on Thursday seeking comment. Federal authorities have said that Martinez Guzman was illegally in the country, but they do not know how or when he crossed the border.
Among the four murdered victims are Gerald David, 81, and his wife Sharon, 80, an important couple belonging to the Rodeo Association of Reno, for whom Martínez Guzmán worked as a gardener at his residence in the middle of last year.
Both were shot with a .22 caliber pistol that Martinez Guzman stole less than two weeks before the crime occurred, police said.
Court documents ensur that the defendant’s DNA was found on the same weapon, which was also used to assassinate Connie Koontz and Sophia Renken inside their respective homes.
