Trial ordered for Kensington man in slaying, robbery

September 27, 2011|By Joseph A. Slobodzian, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Nasuil Martinez must have been really taken with Carlos Fernandez's watch and diamond stud earrings.

On Tuesday, a photo of Martinez, 21, allegedly sporting Fernandez's missing baubles became the evidence that led a Municipal Court judge to order the Kensington man to stand trial in the shooting death of Fernandez.

Fernandez's death on Dec. 21 - and two incidents in which Martinez shot at a total of six police officers, wounding one - are part of an alleged crime spree that enabled Martinez to acquire in two weeks the sort of criminal record that takes some people years.

Story continues below.

And that doesn't include his conviction in July for having a homemade knife after he was arrested and in prison.

After a preliminary hearing, Judge Karen Yvette Simmons ordered Martinez held for trial on murder, robbery, and weapons counts in Fernandez's death.

Assistant District Attorney Brian Zarallo alleged that Martinez shot Fernandez, 38, in an "attempted home invasion" at the front door of Fernandez's house in the 3400 block of A Street in Kensington.

Defense attorney Daniel R. Stevenson asked Simmons to dismiss the charges, arguing that no witness has identified Martinez as the man who shot Fernandez.

Zarallo, however, cited the chain of circumstantial evidence described in testimony by police homicide Detective Kenneth Rossiter.

Rossiter told the judge that he charged Martinez based on a wristwatch and pair of distinctive Q-shaped diamond stud earrings stolen from Fernandez's body by the shooter.

The watch and earrings were recovered from Martinez's home in the 2800 block of North Lee Street, Rossiter testified. He said investigators later found photographs of Martinez wearing what appear to be the stolen items.

Zarallo said police ballistics experts have determined that the .45-caliber slugs that killed Fernandez came from the same pistol that wounded a police officer chasing Martinez on Dec. 10 and which police took from Martinez following a Dec. 22 standoff at his girlfriend's Summerdale house.

That standoff began when Martinez, hiding in the basement, opened fire on five officers searching for him before accidentally shooting himself and getting arrested. Two officers were hit but not seriously wounded when body armor deflected the bullets.


Contact staff writer Joseph A. Slobodzian at 215-854-2985, jslobodzian@phillynews.com, or @joeslobo on Twitter.

|
|
|
|
|