In a recent twist in a 2017 case involving a fatal shooting during a robbery in San Antonio, 38-year-old Ernesto "Tito" Nino has seen his murder charge dismissed. Nino was implicated in planning the robbery that led to the death of Jose Luis Salvador Martinez Jr., 16, who was shot amid a struggle with the robbery victim. According to court records, a key witness's absence has led to the dismissal, just as the trial was set to begin on Monday. This development was first reported by KSAT.
Nino, alongside Omar Garza and the deceased Martinez Jr., were alleged to have orchestrated an armed holdup on June 5, 2017. The plan, as detailed in an affidavit discussed by KSAT, involved Garza and Martinez Jr. confronting the victim under the guise of a flat tire and a drug transaction near Lenard Street and West Gerald Avenue. The situation escalated, with Martinez Jr. wielding an assault rifle and Garza uttering menacing words into his phone.
However, in a chaotic turn of events in the 300 block of Kyle Street, Martinez Jr. was fatally wounded by gunfire. The victim, whose resourceful struggle for his life was noted by police, claimed not to have fired the weapon. In the wake of the gunfire, Garza fled, only to be later apprehended after being wounded himself. Investigators tied Nino to the scene from surveillance, indicating that he picked up Garza subsequent to the crime. This information came to light through KSAT, which reported the details contained within the affidavit.
Additionally, a report from a separate shooting in 2017 in the same location on Kyle Street, also detailed by KSAT, identified the victim inside an SUV as Jose Luis Salvador Martinez Jr., who had been shot several times in the back. The grim scene showed the vehicle's windows broken, painting a picture of a violent struggle that ensued prior to Martinez Jr.'s death. Police had detained an individual found nearby, but it remains unclear whether the person was connected to the crime as a suspect or a witness. Nino, despite his recent dismissal, remains in federal custody on unrelated charges.
