Man guilty of murder in $5 drug deal shooting

Matthieu Martinez, archive image

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Kern County jury on Tuesday found a man guilty of murder for shooting a man during a $5 drug deal.

Matthew Jon Martinez, 38, faces life in prison for the murder of Anthony Wayne Martin, 29. Sentencing is scheduled for next month.

The shooting occurred around 6:30 p.m. on February 23, 2023, on Stockdale Highway, west of North Stine Road. Martinez went there and gave Martin $5 for meth.

Believing he had been wronged, Martinez drew a revolver and fired a single shot, fatally wounding Martin, prosecutor Larry Fields said during closing arguments last week. He told the jury that Martin was unarmed and was about 25 feet away when Martinez shot him.

Deputy Public Defender Nick Roth argued that Martinez acted in self-defense. He told jurors that Martin threatened Martinez and challenged him to a fight when he demanded his money.

Fields scoffed at this claim of self-defense, calling Martinez a pathological liar who gave different versions of what happened. He noted that Martinez said he held the gun on Martin for 30 seconds before pulling the trigger — enough time to think about what he was doing and realize the other man posed no threat .