Santa Rosa man to be sentenced for killing friend found in shallow grave

A Santa Rosa man is expected to be sentenced March 7 following his conviction in the shooting death of a Windsor man who was found buried in a shallow grave near Forestville

On Feb. 6, Juan Antonio Martinez pleaded no contest to one count each of murder and posing as a kidnapper to commit extortion, according to Sonoma County Superior Court records.

He entered a plea agreement with the prosecution three days before jury trial proceedings were scheduled to begin before Judge Laura Passaglia.

Martinez could be sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

The 35-year-old has been jailed since his arrest on June 21, 2022.

Martinez is accused of killing Deydhy Jordy Silverio Castro, who was reported missing June 13, 2022. Investigators found him in the 5000 block of Eastside Road.

At the time, officials with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said the men were last seen together on June 10 when they left Windsor with a large amount of cash to buy a car.

They visited multiple cities before Martinez fatally shot Silverio Castro near Windsor River Road and Kensington Lane in Windsor.

Investigators said Martinez washed his pickup and discarded his gun and clothes afterward. It wasn’t immediately clear if the gun was ever recovered.

On June 18, officials said, the victim’s wife received a phone call from a man who disguised his voice and demanded a ransom.

The abandoned pickup, which had blood inside, was discovered two days later in the 5000 block of Westside Road south of Healdsburg.

Investigators found Silverio Castro’s money at Martinez’s home, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Sonoma County court records show Martinez was defiant toward jail staff, made weapons and tried to escape from the Sonoma County jail.

This occurred on at least four occasions through the end of 2022. The weapons, officials said he made, included a 6-inch piece of metal with a sharpened edge and items with screws in them.

On one occasion, according to court records, Martinez scraped off mortar from his cell window and its frame was loosened.

“Defendant was able to pop rivets loose from the window frame and had camouflaged quite a bit of the damage by drawing on the walls (mortar joints) and utilizing additional contraband to mask the damage,” according to the motion.

In November 2022, county officials filed a motion to move him to a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facility as a precaution while awaiting court appearances.

Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Chris Honigsberg approved the motion and Martinez was transferred to a facility in Sacramento.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi.