Suspect Brought Back to California to Face Nine Murder Charges

by Elizabeth Warmerdam , September 11, 2014

TULARE – A man accused of nine counts of homicide and one count of attempted homicide in Tulare County, Kern County and Santa Barbara County was extradited from Alabama to face the charges in Tulare.

Jose Manuel Martinez, 52, also known as El Mano Negro, was being held in an Alabama prison answering to one count of homicide, which he later plead out to a 50-year sentence in Alabama.

Meanwhile, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department and the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office worked on an out-of-state extradition for Martinez, who is from Richgrove, Calif. With the assistance of the U.S. Marshal’s Office, Martinez was extradited back to California on September 3 and booked into the Tulare County Adult Pre-Trial facility to face the nine California charges.

The crimes he is accused of occurred from 1980 through 2011. The victims ranged in age from 17 years old up to 56 years old.

Florida and nine other states are also seeking out Martinez as a person of interest for homicides within their jurisdictions.

LATIMES: Alabama killer extradited to CA

CBS: Jose Manuel Martinez charged in 9 contract killings

Suspect Brought Back to California to Face Nine Murder Charges was last modified: September 11th, 2014 by admin

Categories: Tulare

Tags: homicide, Jose Manuel Martinez

About Author

Elizabeth Warmerdam

Beth Warmerdam is a freelance journalist based out of Reedley. She graduated from Fresno State in 2004 with a BA in print journalism and has worked for several newspapers and magazines. In addition to writing, Beth enjoys being a stay-at-home mom, trying to keep up with her 2-year-old son, Zachary.