Stolen Cell Phone Ends with Murder Conviction

DA Charme Allen announces that prosecutors in the Major Crimes Unit obtained a conviction against a man who murdered the victim over a stolen cell phone.  Kevin Jaimes Martinez, 22, was convicted of First Degree Murder.  After the jury returned the verdict, Judge Scott Green ordered Martinez to serve a life sentence in prison.

In a three-day trial, Assistant District Attorneys Jeannine Guzolek and Rachel Hill explained to the jury that on December 19, 2024, Knoxville Police Department Detective Jonathan Harris responded to a shooting on Washington Pike.  The subsequent investigation revealed that Martinez was angry with the victim because he believed the victim stole Martinez’s brother’s phone.  Martinez located the victims in a vehicle parked outside a laundromat on Washington Pike.  Surveillance video showed Martinez walk from the back of the laundromat to the victim’s vehicle.  Martinez went back behind the building briefly then returned to the victim’s vehicle, opened the door, and shot the victim.  Martinez fled the scene and was ultimately apprehended at the Nashville Greyhound bus station on his way to California.

“Thanks to the quick work of KPD, with the assistance of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Metro Nashville Police Department, this offender was apprehended and held accountable,” said DA Allen.

Under Tennessee law, a life sentence means Martinez must serve fifty-one years in prison before he is eligible to meet with the parole board.  Assistant Victim Witness Coordinator Kim Strike and Legal Secretary Connie Watts aided in the prosecution of this case.

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.