March 16, 2016 Staff Report
A Corona man was sentenced to 14 years to life in prison for the murder of a young woman he pursued on the street and strangled to death in 2009, when he was 15 years old, according to the Queens District Attorney.
Jose Martinez, 22, whose last known address was on Northern Boulevard in Corona, pleaded guilty to second degree murder in December.
According to District Attorney Richard Brown, Martinez admitted to killing 23-year-old Carmen Saldana on July 12, 2009. Martinez had been riding a bike in Astoria when he encountered her on the sidewalk and followed her to the Astoria apartment she shared with her mother.
After Saldana rushed inside the apartment and locked herself in, Martinez kicked in the door and entered. A physical altercation ensued that ended with Martinez choking her to death with his hands.
“This was a senseless and brutal crime – made all the more unfathomable because the defendant was just 15 years old at the time,” Brown said in a statement. “A young woman’s life was tragically cut short and the defendant, now an adult, will spend a lengthy term behind bars to protect society.”
Martinez’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
