Rollerblading gunman accused of deadly Fresno shooting heading to trial

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A gunman on rollerblades shot and killed a man sleeping in his vehicle in a West Central Fresno shopping center last year.

Wednesday, a Fresno County judge ruled there was enough evidence for the alleged shooter and getaway driver to go to trial.

The lead homicide investigator testified how surveillance video and search warrants helped piece the case together.

"A lot of video evidence was collected in this case." Fresno Police Department Homicide Detective Ryan Rockwell said.

Fresno Police Detective Ryan Rockwell says surveillance video gave them their initial leads while investigating the murder of 70-year-old Richard Martin.

In May of last year, Martin was found shot to death inside his vehicle in the FreshCo Foods shopping center at Shields and Brawley Ave.

Rockwell says video showed defendant Alejandra Munoz casing the parking lot near Martin's car in the hours leading up to the shooting.

Then, just before the shooting he says Munoz pulls up again.

A person on rollerblades comes from the direction of where she was parked and Munoz takes off.

"The killer passed by Mr. Martin's vehicle twice before approaching a third time at 11:20 and committing the shooting." Rockwell said.

"And when you say that the killer approached the vehicle, both of those times, was that person on rollerblades?" Deputy District Attorney Elana Smith asked.

"Yes. The whole time." Rockwell said.

Rockwell says the shooter rollerbladed to Marty Avenue where Munoz was waiting in her car.

Rockwell says they were eventually able to track down 41-year-old Guillermo Perez through phone records between he and Munoz.

Investigators say Munoz had hired Perez in the past for odd jobs.

Detectives found rollerblades and similar clothing that matched the shooter's during a search warrant at Perez's home.

Shell casings found at the scene of Martin's murder also matched shell casings in another case where Perez was the alleged shooter.

Rockwell says his theory for the killing involves an $850,000 payment that Martin had verbally agreed to accept in order to settle a civil lawsuit against his former employer just days before his death.

That former employer was Munoz's current employer.

But both defense attorneys argued there's only circumstantial evidence in the case.

Munoz's defense attorney Mark Coleman argued his client wasn't casing Martin's vehicle, but that she was looking to buy drugs from someone.

Coleman also argued there was no evidence to prove Munoz knew the person who was on rollerblades was going to kill someone. He also argued she didn't know that person had killed someone when they got in her car nearby following the shooting.

"The only evidence you have is the conclusions you drew from the videos you collected?" Coleman asked Rockwell.

"Yes." Rockwell said.

Perez's defense attorney Megan Taylor argued detectives were unable to identify the suspect in the surveillance video, a logo on the suspects shirt and that rollerblades are widely available.

"The connections here are coincidental, at best. None of them are, pardon my use of the phrase, 'a smoking gun.'" Taylor said.

But Judge Jonathan Conklin disagreed saying the timing of the verbal settlement and murder must be considered as well as all the circumstantial evidence combined.

"So I'm not considering any individual piece of the puzzle. I'm considering the puzzle in it's entirety and it is striking." Conklin said.

Munoz and Perez will be back in court later this month and a trial date will be set.

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