Conviction overturned, but man still in prison

PASCO – After the felony murder conviction of Elijah Jacob Martinez was overturned as the result of a pair of state Supreme Court rulings, he hoped to make it home for Christmas.

On Tuesday a Franklin County Superior Court judge told Martinez, 27, of Pasco, who has always maintained he was innocent, that he’ll have to remain in custody at least two weeks longer.

Martinez, then 18, was given a 24-year prison term in 1996 after a jury convicted him of second-degree murder and second-degree assault in the shooting death of Lalo Gamboa, 15, the previous year.

Acquitting him of first-degree murder and reckless endangerment, jurors found there wasn’t enough evidence to prove Martinez fired the shot that killed Gamboa, who was riding his bicycle through an alley during a turf battle between rival Pasco youth gangs.

Five other teenagers also were convicted in the shooting.

Prosecutor Steve M. Lowe conceded that the murder conviction is void because of high court rulings in 2002 and earlier this year that invalidated second-degree murder convictions based on assault without a proven intent to kill going back to 1976.

Lowe and defense lawyer Norma Rodriguez disagreed, however, on the sentence Martinez should receive.

Rodriguez asserted that Martinez already has served more time than the revised sentence would provide and thus should be allowed to return home to live with his mother as he has planned.

Judge Craig J. Matheson appeared willing to grant that request but reversed himself after realizing Martinez remained under the jurisdiction of the state Corrections Department.

Even if release were granted, Martinez would have been sent back to custody for processing by prison officials to let him go free to an approved residence, Matheson said.

The judge scheduled another hearing in two weeks and asked the two sides to try to resolve the technicalities of the case.

“This is a fairly unique situation, and it’s highly complex procedurally because we’re sort of going backward on the case,” Matheson said. “I’m trying to be cautious to all involved and fair to all sides here.”