Teen Pleads Guilty in Shooting Death

A 19-year-old Ventura man pleaded guilty Tuesday to voluntary manslaughter in the December shooting death of another man during a heated argument over a broken car window.

Jose “JB” Martinez also admitted that he used a firearm to shoot Steven Dale Jenkins outside Juro’ Cho’ Sushi, a popular beachfront restaurant on West Seaward Avenue in Ventura.

Jenkins, 23, died at a local hospital a day after being shot in the head. The Ventura carpenter played in a band and had aspired to be a dentist, his family has said.

Martinez, who moved to Ventura last year from Nevada and worked at a local Target store, was originally charged with second-degree murder and the firearm allegation--charges that carried a maximum sentence of 40 years to life in prison.

At his sentencing, scheduled for April 24, Martinez will face a maximum term of 21 years for the manslaughter and firearm convictions but will be eligible for parole, said his attorney, Robert Schwartz.

Martinez entered the guilty plea during a brief hearing in Ventura County Superior Court. Prosecutors dropped the murder charge before the hearing after attorneys for both sides negotiated a plea agreement, Schwartz said.

The Ventura defense attorney said his client made no other statements in court. Schwartz declined further comment, and Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Ellison was not immediately available for comment.

According to detectives, Martinez was driving on Seaward Avenue on Dec. 15 when a group of men approached his car and complained about his loud music and erratic driving, and someone threw a rock through his window.

Martinez became angry, retrieved his gun from the motel where he was staying and bought bullets, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing earlier this month.

He then returned to Seaward Avenue with his stepfather and brother-in-law to find the people who threw the rock at his car. He carried the 9-millimeter gun for defense, he told police.

The trio entered the sushi restaurant and were pushed out by a group of diners. When a shouting crowd surrounded Martinez, he pulled out the gun and fired a warning shot, authorities said.

Martinez alleged that someone struck him twice and the gun discharged, causing a bullet to strike Jenkins in the head. A witness testified at the preliminary hearing that Jenkins had tried to knock the gun out of Martinez’s hand.