‘House Arrest’ Offender Sought in Wife’s Death Surrenders

A Harbor City man, suspected of killing his estranged wife even though he was under house arrest and wearing an electronic surveillance bracelet, surrendered to sheriff’s deputies Monday evening.

Steve Moon Martinez, 26, is suspected of shooting Nikki Martinez, 27, shortly after midnight Sunday in Carson as she sat in her car after dropping off a woman friend, deputies said. The couple’s 3-year-old son was in the back seat and was uninjured.

Martinez was required to wear an electronic monitor ankle bracelet, which was intended to confine him to his Harbor City apartment, after he was arrested last July for shooting a gun into the air. The bracelets are designed to signal whenever the wearer has strayed outside his home.

When Martinez, accompanied by his attorney and family members, surrendered Monday, he was not wearing the bracelet. He was booked on suspicion of murder and held at the Lomita sheriff’s station.