Mexican hitman who paid musicians to sing songs about his 30-year killing spree gets life sentence for nine California murders - but authorities say he confessed to more

  • Jose Manuel Martinez, 53, began killing for a Mexican cartel aged 18
  • The self-styled debt collector claims to have killed more than 30 people 
  • Paid up to $8,000 for a hit - but also killed neighbor for parking on his drive
  • Martinez now faces a trial in Florida for double murder in 2006 

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and FLORA DRURY FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

Jose Manuel Martinez, pictured, is believed to have murdered more than 30 people since 1980

A self-styled debt collector working for a Mexican drug cartel will spend the rest of his life behind bars after pleading guilty to murdering nine people in California alone.

Jose Manuel Martinez - hired to carry out his first killing aged just 18 - also admitted to several other killings across the country in service of a cartel he refuses to identify.

The 53-year-old, known as 'El Mano Negra', which is Spanish for 'The Black Hand', has already admitted killing a man in Arizona for insulting his daughter, and faces two further murder charges in Florida.

He had previously claimed he killed more than 30 people during a career as a hitman which spanned three decades.

Martinez avoided the death penalty in California after agreeing to a plea bargain, laid out over 18 pages.

The plea deal reveals Martinez confessed to the nine killings, starting as a teenager in 1980 and shooting his final victim in 2011.

He received as much as $8,000 for a hit, but had also killed a small-time drug dealer who owed him $2,000 and a neighbor who wouldn't stop parking in his driveway.

'Justice was a long time coming for these many families,' prosecutor David Alavezos said. 'We are pleased that the families may receive some closure with today's sentencing.'

Martinez - who allegedly paid musicians to write songs about his murderous exploits - was arrested in 2013 while crossing the border from Mexico to Arizona in connection with a slaying in Alabama. 

Shortly after his arrest, he confessed to killing and collecting debts across the country for an unnamed cartel.

Last year, Martinez pleaded guilty in Alabama to killing a man for making derogatory remarks about his daughter.  

Authorities could not independently confirm that he was a cartel enforcer, but Martinez provided investigators with details of clothes, body positions and the caliber of weapons involved in the California killings, Tulare County Assistant Sheriff Scott Logue said.

Martinez, pictured, has refused to name the cartel which employed him to murder more than two dozen people

'He was spot on almost 100 percent of the time,' Logue said at the October 6 court hearing where Martinez pleaded guilty.

No DNA evidence was used in the investigation, he said.

Martinez also faces charges in two killings in Florida.

THE CALIFORNIA MURDERS MARTINEZ IS CHARGED WITH

October 21, 1980: David Bedolla, 23, of Lindsay. The victim was shot while driving his vehicle to work with his wife, brother, and brother-in-law. The shooting took place between Lindsay and Strathmore in Tulare County.

October 1, 1982: Sylvester Ayon, 30, and the attempted murder of 17-year-old G. G., who were both shot while working on a ranch
near the Santa Ynez area off Refugio road (Santa Barbara County). G.G. survived the shooting while Sylvester Ayon died from multiple gunshot wounds.

October 19, 1982: 22-year-old Earlimart resident Raul Gonzalez (Tulare County). The victim was last seen at his home on October 19, 1982. Two days later his body was located by ranchers off Fountain Springs Road, east of Porterville. He had been shot and stabbed multiple times.

April 8, 1995: Domingo Perez, 29, of Earlimart, CA (Tulare County). The victim was reported missing by family members on April 8, 1995. His body was located in an orange grove just north of Richgrove in Tulare County on May 23, 1995. He had been shot multiple times.

February 14, 2000: Martinez is charged with the murder of 56-year-old Santiago Perez of Pixley (Tulare County), who was shot to death in his bed in the early morning. The victim’s four minor children were home at the time of the shooting.

February 15, 2007: Jose Alvarado, 25 (Kern County). The victim was located on a dirt access road outside of the town of McFarland in Kern County. He had been shot multiple times.

March 23, 2009: Juan Bautista Moreno, 52 (Kern County). The victim was located in an orange grove south of Elmo Highway near McFarland in Kern County. He had been shot multiple times.

September 30, 2009: Joaquin Barragan, 45, of Earlimart. The victim was located on the bank of Deer Creek canal just east of Earlimart by ranchers working the area. He had been missing since September 27, 2009. Mr. Barragan suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

February 7, 2011: Gonzalo Urquieta, 54, of Earlimart. The victim was located in an orange grove just outside of the town of Richgrove, CA. He had been missing since February 5, 2011. Mr. Urquieta was shot multiple times.

Source: Office of the District Attorney County of Tulare

California

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