Santa Rosa man accused of killing, burying Windsor man

A Santa Rosa man is accused of fatally shooting a Windsor resident who was discovered in a shallow grave near Forestville, investigators say.

Juan Antonio Martinez, 33, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murder, robbery, and extortion, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

He’s suspected of killing a Windsor man who was reported missing on June 13. The victim’s name hasn’t been released.

Martinez is being held at the Sonoma County Jail without bail and could appear in Sonoma County Superior Court as early as Thursday.

According to investigators, the men were last seen together on June 10 when they departed Windsor with a “large amount of cash to buy a car.”

They visited multiple cities in and outside Sonoma County before the victim was fatally shot near Windsor River Road and Kensington Lane in Windsor.

Authorities believe Martinez killed the victim and then fled the area via backroads and buried the man’s body in the 5000 block of Eastside Road in Forestville, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators also suspect he discarded the gun nearby, cleaned his pickup truck and threw away his clothes.

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 was discovered two days later in the 5000 block of Westside Road south of Healdsburg, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Blood was found inside the truck, officials added.

Investigators got a tip on Tuesday that Martinez was near Southwest Community Park in Santa Rosa and he was arrested without incident.

They searched his home and found the victim’s money, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

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