The final member of a group of four who catfished a 22-year-old man, then lured him to a Texas home to kill him, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Cyle Flores, 18, pleaded guilty to murder in the shooting death of 22-year-old Israel Martinez on Sept. 19, 2021, KWTX reported.
His co-defendants, Jeremiah Marquez, 18, Justin Angel Hernandez, 22, and Edgar Alfonso Castillo, 17, also entered guilty pleas. Marquez and Hernandez were sentenced to 35 years, while Castillo will serve 30 years in prison.
Authorities say the group set up a phony Facebook account with a photo of a woman they named Kaelani Moore. They then used the account to contact Martinez through Facebook Messenger and lured him to a home in Waco, Texas, under the assumption he was meeting said woman.
The group broke into that home, then shot Martinez in front of the house when he arrived.
Investigators found spent shell casings from different types of firearms at the scene. Witnesses also reported seeing multiple people flee the scene.
Police found Martinez’s wallet, cellphone, and other items near his body.
When they looked through his phone, they found the fake Facebook account for Kaelani Moore and a message from the profile that told Martinez to come to the home where he was killed, an arrest warrant affidavit states.
Detectives believe Hernandez and Marquez fired the shots that killed the 22-year-old.
They tied the phony profile and FB Messenger conversation back to Hernandez’s Facebook account, and learned that Hernandez also directed Martinez to send money to a money transfer application with the screen name “Kaelani M.”
Waco police alleged that the account associated with the email address on the Kaelani Moore Facebook account was used to “set up the murder victim.”
Flores, Marquez, and Castillo were all charged as adults with capital murder alongside their co-conspirator, Hernandez. Their charges were downgraded after they made plea deals with local prosecutors.
In Flores’ case, prosecutors also agreed to drop a third-degree felony charge he faced for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend while he was free on bond in the murder case.
All four men must serve out half their sentences before they’re eligible for parole.
“Each conviction in this case highlights gun violence will not be tolerated in our community, and our office will continue to target those who do harm, regardless of their age,” McLennan County Prosecutors Kristi DeCluitt and Rebeckah Lawson said. “The three juveniles in this case were certified as adults. They committed, along with one adult defendant, a calculated social media scheme to lure the victim to rob him, and ultimately, take his life. Such violence will not be tolerated in our community, and we will continue seeking justice for victims.”
Flores’s attorney, Abel Reyna, called the incident “a very sad case all the way around.”
“From the standpoint of the victim and his family, we deeply regret the loss and sadness they continue to suffer,” Reyna said. “From Cyle’s perspective, this case brings to harsh reality the lesson many of our parents taught us – Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.”
Martinez was an insulation company employee and the father of a young son.
His sister also lost her life to gun violence at a young age.
In November 2017, 24-year-old Valarie Martinez was found shot to death at Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir park along with her 1-year-old daughter, Azariah.
In that case, Christopher Paul Weiss was convicted of capital murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
