WOODLAND — Two months after dropping attempted murder charges against the suspect in a West Sacramento drive-by shooting, Yolo County prosecutors indicated Tuesday they still don’t have enough evidence to revive the case.
A scheduled hearing in Yolo Superior Court for the onetime suspect, Sonny Rudy Martinez of Stockton, instead revolved around a defense motion to return Martinez’s property that’s still in the possession of West Sacramento police.
Officers seized a truck and its contents during Martinez’s arrest on Oct. 28, four days after the drive-by shooting on Solano Street that left 13-year-old Alize Valadez with a near-fatal gunshot wound to her head.
Deputy District Attorney Ryan Couzens objected to the property release, saying it’s unclear whether Martinez is in fact the registered owner of the truck and noting that the vehicle is “packed full” of questionable contents including counterfeit currency, possible gang-related communications and notebooks containing personal information commonly used to commit identity theft.
Martinez’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Richard Van Zandt, countered that his client “does not need to prove he is the legal owner if it is apparent at the time of the seizure Mr. Martinez was in possession of the property sought to be returned.”
Judge David Reed sided with the defense, ordering the immediate release of Martinez’s belongings — minus the alleged contraband.
“If no one else has made a claim to the property, I see no reason why it shouldn’t be returned to his possession,” Reed said. “There is no legal basis for them to keep holding it, from what I’ve heard so far.”
No future court hearings are scheduled in the case, unless charges are refiled against Martinez or another suspect. West Sacramento police Sgt. Roger Kinney said Tuesday the investigation is continuing.
As he left court, Martinez, 39, declined to discuss his arrest or the nearly two months he spent in jail before the charges were dismissed. He has maintained that he was at home at the time of the shooting and had no motive to commit the crime.
“I’m just happy it’s over,” he said.
Meanwhile, the long road to recovery continues for Valadez, who spent three weeks in a coma at the UC Davis Medical Center following the shooting.
She has since regained consciousness and returned home, but is re-learning to walk, talk and feed herself, her relatives have said.
“She’s not going to be the same,” grandmother Hope Penunuri said in December following Martinez’s release, adding that the family is holding out hope for a successful prosecution in the case.
“She deserves to have her justice,” Penunuri said.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene