Defendant found guilty of felony murder in 2019 fatal Fairview shooting
After one defendant pleaded guilty to lesser charges in the 2019 shooting death of a Fairview man in a drug deal gone wrong, a second defendant was found guilty of felony murder.
David Martinez, who was the driver during the fatal June 29, 2019, shooting, was found guilty on Monday of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in addition to felony murder.
David Duque-Soto, 23, was found fatally shot in his Fourth Street apartment with two 9 mm shell casings and one .32-caliber casing near his body and with signs of acute blunt force trauma. Five people were arrested in his killing, four of them charged with felony homicide: Lexie Burke, Carlos Juan Burgos, Martinez and Raul Alexander Torres.
The fifth, Dylan Rodriguez, was charged with hindering apprehension by concealing a weapon, unlawful possession of a weapon, receiving stolen property and possessing marijuana. The gun was found in Rodriguez's attic.
Martinez's trial began on Feb. 7 and closed on March 8.
Frank Carbonetti, Martinez's attorney, said he was disappointed with the verdict but is focused on getting ready for the sentencing, which is scheduled for April 28.
They have 45 days to file an appeal, and Carbonetti said the appellate process will take a while but he is moving forward.
"It's not over for David Martinez," Carbonetti told The Record and NorthJersey.com. "We have a lot of work ahead."
Rodriguez was additionally charged with felony murder, perjury, accomplice liability to commit armed robbery, hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence in July 2022 after his testimony against Burke during his trial last February. Prosecutors believe he was the one to supply the men with the gun used to kill Duque-Soto.
Days after Rodriguez's testimony, Burke pleaded guilty to lesser charges of aggravated manslaughter.
Burgos and Torres were originally scheduled to be tried with Martinez, and jury selection had begun, but an unspecified issue resulted in their trial being separated from his.
Duque-Soto's killing in Fairview
During Burke's trial, testimony and surveillance video evidence showed the group of men meeting up at a gas station before visiting Duque-Soto's apartment. Burke had wanted to purchase a pound of marijuana from him. The purchase never happened, though, after Duque-Soto allegedly pulled a gun on the group.
They left the apartment and met at a different gas station, where they began to formulate a plan to rob Duque-Soto of his gun and the drugs, angry about what had happened. Just before 7 p.m. on June 29, 2019, Martinez drove Burgos, Torres and Burke back to Duque-Soto's apartment.
Not long after they entered the Fourth Street apartment, three gunshots were fired and the three men fled the scene. Duque-Soto was found fatally shot in his apartment.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Fairview NJ fatal shooting leads to second guilty verdict
