Man gets life sentence for fatal South Valley shooting after jury conviction

Samuel Jimenez Perez will serve at least 30 years before New Mexico can even consider him for parole after a Bernalillo County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Rosendo Martinez. A life sentence in this state does not mean an automatic release date; it means the prison term starts with a 30-year minimum before parole eligibility begins, and any release would still have to be approved through the parole process.

Jurors in the 2nd Judicial District Court took less than four hours to convict Perez in the Sept. 7, 2024 shooting death of Martinez in the front yard of his South Valley home near Atrisco SW, Mares and Coors. Investigators said Martinez was shot seven times. Deputies also said Perez arrived at about 5:45 a.m. armed with a semi-automatic handgun and wearing a bulletproof vest, and officers recovered 25 spent shell casings at the scene.

Witnesses told Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies that two men wearing bulletproof vests arrived in a black Dodge Durango and killed Martinez after a 10- to 15-minute conversation. Prosecutors pointed to the vest and the coordinated arrival as evidence the attack was planned, not spontaneous. In a court filing seeking to keep Perez jailed before trial, prosecutors said, “He evidently believes (that) violence will settle all the disputes in his life. He is extremely dangerous.”

The murder case was also linked to an earlier Aug. 8, 2024 shooting at the same residence. Court records identified the earlier victim as Jesus Jimenez, who was shot in the arm during a dispute over a painting job. Prosecutors said shell casings from the August and September shootings matched, indicating the same firearm was used in both attacks. Perez was already in custody in another case when investigators connected him to Martinez’s killing, and he was also scheduled for trial on the earlier shooting charge on Feb. 23, 2026.

The sentence brings one chapter to a close in a case that prosecutors said showed repeated, escalating violence at the same South Valley address. The next step is not freedom, but decades behind bars before parole can even enter the picture.