On a Monday night in February, police says Roberto Martinez takes his 14-year-old son on a graffiti spree in the Pico-Union neighborhood. Armed with a can of yellow spray paint, they tag the facades of a pawn shop, laundromat, and furniture store with their gang names, according to a Los Angeles Police Department detective in a search warrant affidavit. While driving down Normandie Avenue, Martinez and his son encounter Kevin Rivera, who is crossing the street. A witness tells police that the muzzle of a handgun sticks out from their car’s passenger window. Martinez’s son then pulls the trigger five times, killing Rivera and injuring two others, the detective details in the affidavit. Martinez, 43, and his son are accused of murdering Rivera, whom Martinez believed to be part of a rival gang. Martinez has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer at the arraignment directs questions to the Los Angeles County public defender’s media representatives, who do not respond to requests for comment. It remains unclear who is representing Martinez’s son, whose case remains private due to his age.
Martinez has a history of being in and out of prison since 2005 for possession of drugs and guns, according to court records. Also known as “Stranger,” he is a member of a Hollywood gang called The Magicians’ Club, or TMC, as detailed by Det. James Ball of the Los Angeles Police Department in the affidavit. In the evening of February 10, Martinez and his son are caught on surveillance cameras vandalizing a stretch of Venice and Pico boulevards, Ball writes. The graffiti found on the side of a business includes “TMC” and “Hellbound.” Hellbound, a small crew based in the Koreatown and Mid-City neighborhoods, is a rival of the more established gang called the Playboys, according to Ball. Surveillance footage captures Martinez’s son and his friends tagging a laundromat while the father flashes gang signs at passing cars, the detective describes. The group then gets into a black Honda Accord and heads to Pico Boulevard and Fedora Avenue, the heart of the Playboys’ territory, where they tag “Hellbound” and “PBSK” — abbreviating Playboys Killers. About four blocks away, Rivera, 30, is walking down Normandie Avenue when the Accord drives past him and makes a U-turn, a witness tells detectives. A suspect wearing a hooded sweatshirt, believed to be Martinez’s son by police, fires out of the rear passenger window, fatally shooting Rivera in the back. Another man crossing the street is hit in the hip, and a woman sitting in her car is grazed by a bullet, the affidavit states. Six days later, Martinez is on the phone with a prisoner, mentioning a shooting in a recorded call, Ball writes. Martinez claims that “four people got dropped and one died,” adding that the victim was from the Playboys. Rivera’s family could not be reached for comment. In the call, Martinez says, “My son did what he had to do, dog,” and claims he tried to stop him by grabbing the gun, but detectives allege otherwise. Ball writes that Martinez gave his son the .40-caliber Glock used in Rivera’s murder. Two days after Martinez’s arrest for Rivera’s murder, LAPD officers in Wilmington stop a man driving a stolen Dodge pickup from a home invasion robbery in Perris, Ball writes. Antonio Alvarez allegedly throws a stolen .40-caliber Glock during the chase. Ballistics testing confirms that the gun was used in Rivera’s murder. WhatsApp messages on Alvarez’s phone show that he bought the Glock for $800 five days after Rivera’s death, according to Ball. The sale was coordinated by someone using a phone that pinged off a cell tower near Centinela State Prison, the affidavit reveals. Ball is still investigating who facilitated the sale.
Not really sure why this matters, but it seems like Martinez and his son were heavily involved in gang activity and violence. Maybe it’s just me, but it’s quite shocking to see a father leading his son into such dangerous territory. This whole situation just goes to show the dark side of gang life and how it can tear families apart.