ABQ man convicted in 2024 South Valley killing

Witnesses told Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputies in 2024 that two men wearing bulletproof vests arrived in a black Dodge Durango at the home of Rosendo Martinez and fatally shot him following a 10- to 15-minute conversation.

A jury deliberated less than four hours Monday before convicting Samuel Jimenez Perez, 31, of first-degree murder in Martinez's shooting death on Sept. 7, 2024, in the front yard of his South Valley home.

The conviction in 2nd Judicial District Court requires Jimenez Perez to serve at least 30 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. Presiding Judge Britt Baca has not scheduled a sentencing hearing.

Jimenez Perez also faces trial on Feb. 23 for allegedly shooting another man at the same residence a month before Martinez's killing.

Deputies were dispatched to the 1700 block of Atrisco SW, near Mares, where they found Martinez fatally shot outside his home.

Court records show that deputies identified Jimenez Perez as a suspect after Albuquerque police arrested him and a second man in a stolen SUV the same day as the homicide, according to a criminal complaint filed in Bernalillo County Metro Court.

The driver of the stolen SUV provided information to investigators that implicated Jimenez Perez in the fatal shooting, the complaint said.

In the earlier shooting, prosecutors allege that Jimenez Perez shot another man in the arm outside Martinez's residence on Aug. 8, 2024.

The victim, Jesus Jimenez, said he was at Martinez's home to discuss a painting job when a vehicle pulled up, striking a fence outside the residence, prosecutors said in a pretrial detention motion. The driver of the vehicle brandished a firearm during a confrontation and shot Jesus Jimenez once in the arm, it said.

Shell casings collected at the scene following the incident matched those collected following Martinez's killing a month later, showing the same firearm was used in both shootings, prosecutors allege.