Charges were dismissed Tuesday against the sole suspect in a
grisly Gilroy murder case after DNA evidence failed to link him to
the crime.
Gilroy – Charges were dismissed Tuesday against the sole suspect in a grisly Gilroy murder case after DNA evidence failed to link him to the crime.
Tomas Martinez, 21, was arrested in May on suspicion of killing Juan Lugo, a 56-year-old father found stabbed to death April 29 in a downtown alley. Lugo’s murder shocked those who’d met ‘Juanito,’ a short, gentle man often seen circling Monterey Street on his bicycle.
“He was a nice person, not someone who looked for trouble,” said Juan Padilla, an Eigleberry Street resident who knew Lugo. “I don’t know who would have killed him.”
Detective Stan Devlin had an idea: Martinez was evidently in the alley behind La Colonia Latina, 7261 Monterey St., the same night that Lugo’s body was found riddled with knife wounds, Devlin said. His suspicions grew when Martinez offered up clashing explanations as to where he was that night, and when.
“He was in the crime scene,” said Devlin, “and his statements were inconsistent – and that’s why we went forward.”
But deputy district attorney James Gibbons-Shapiro dropped the charge Tuesday, citing blood and shoeprints found at the scene that didn’t match Martinez’ own. Criminalist Nancy Marte analyzed the evidence in less than 60 days, acting on Gibbons-Shapiro’s request to expedite the tests.
“At another time, if there were no DNA, this could have been a case of an innocent man being incarcerated for the rest of his life,” said public defender Sylvia Perez, who represented Martinez.
Gibbons-Shapiro echoed her praise for the county crime lab, but was saddened to see the case go cold.
“His was a horrible, horrible, brutal murder,” Gibbons-Shapiro said. “That case remains unsolved.”
Now, detectives are back where they started on the case, said Devlin, grilling residents to track down clues. Devlin has said the murderer likely knew Lugo well, since there were no reports of noise or fighting in the alley before his body was found. Martinez says he’d never even met Lugo, said Perez – one of several reasons she says the case against him was weak.
Still, Devlin says he hasn’t ruled out Martinez.
“I will not completely wipe him out as a non-suspect,” he said.
Martinez has not gone free: Because he is in the country illegally, Martinez is under an Immigration and Naturalization Services hold, and will likely be transported to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Los Angeles, Perez said. Family members say he may opt to leave the country voluntarily, rejoining his family in Michoacan, Mexico.
“But for this accusation, the immigration hold would never have happened,” Perez said.
If Martinez leaves the country, it could complicate the case, said Devlin, but the Mexican consulate could quickly locate him if evidence surfaced connecting Martinez to the crime.
“It’s been done before,” the detective said simply.
During his two-month detention, Martinez became “almost delusional,” said Perez, overwhelmed by the charges against him. In court, he once asked to be freed immediately – a request Judge Teresa Guerrero-Daley sharply denied. Tuesday, his girlfriend and infant son sat in the courtroom, rows behind his cousins. Family members asked Perez to speak on their behalf, citing the continuing immigration charges against Martinez.
Martinez had only recently returned to Gilroy from Arizona, and wasn’t well-known to Gilroyans. A notable exception was Nick Franco, a cashier at Franco’s Imports on Old Gilroy Street. Franco said Martinez had cashed a fake check at the store in September 2005, but he was floored when police arrested the 21-year-old for Lugo’s murder.
“I was shocked,” Franco said in a May interview. “This kid?”
His reaction echoed that of Lugo’s friends and family, upon learning of his death. According to Lugo’s son Jose, his killer left cash in his wallet, but took his Bible – a quirk of the case that had some wondering if it might be a hate crime. Lugo was widely believed to be gay by neighbors; his son says he wasn’t, but was stereotyped for his mannerisms.
Devlin said thus far, there is no indication that the crime was bias-motivated. Gangs weren’t involved, Devlin added, nor were drugs found in Lugo’s body or in his system.
“The real murderer is still out there,” concluded Perez. “Now the police are under greater pressure to find the culprit.”
Anyone with information may call Detective Stan Devlin at 846-0350 or leave an anonymous tip at 846-0330.
