A 58-year-old Lewisville man pleaded guilty to murder in a Denton County courtroom Tuesday morning.
Humberto Jesus Martinez-Benitez entered his plea in the 158th District Court in the slaying of Jacob Gutierrez on Nov. 18, 2012.
Gutierrez, 26, was shot multiple times and was found lying in the front yard of a residence in the 1200 block of North Cowan Avenue at Village North Mobile Home Park in Lewisville.
Martinez-Benitez’s attorney, Steven Todd Hayden, said it was a “slow plea” and “very unique.”
“It took a long time for him to come to this conclusion,” Hayden said on behalf of his client.
Hayden said generally there is a plea agreement if clients plead guilty or they “go down fighting” before a jury trial.
A jury was not seated until after lunch Tuesday because of scheduling conflicts that postponed the trial a day.
Prosecutors Dustin Gossage and Michael Graves began the punishment phase as soon as jurors took their seats.
They told jurors Martinez-Benitez was convicted of a prior felony on Aug. 20, 1993, on a federal case for possession with intent to deliver heroin and because of this, he is entitled to an enhanced sentence for a minimum of 15 years instead of a minimum of 5 years had he not been convicted of a felony.
During a brief opening statement, Gossage told jurors Martinez-Benitez killed his cousin, Gutierrez, leaving behind a wife and two children — a 2-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy.
Gutierrez’s little girl, Gossage said, had just been diagnosed with leukemia.
Of Martinez-Benitez, Gossage said, “This will not be his first time in prison. The only thing he learned [while in prison the first time] is you can simply kill a person and that’s OK.”
Hayden reserved his comments for a later time.
Four people testified Tuesday, including an older brother of Gutierrez’s, Josue Benitez, 40.
Benitez said his brother, who lived with him, had only lived in the United States for five months before he was shot and killed. His younger brother’s wife and two children live in Mexico, he testified, and he came to the States to make money so he could build his family a home someday.
That night in November 2012, Benitez said he came home late from Garland after visiting some of his wife’s family and saw a handful of relatives drinking beer and talking outside.
Benitez testified that he told them all they were drunk and to go to bed, but Martinez-Benitez and Gutierrez stayed outdoors and continued to drink. He recalled the two had a disagreement after Gutierrez talked about Martinez-Benitez firing a gun at a home in Mexico several years ago.
Benitez told them that was years ago and they were drunk and needed sleep, he said to jurors with the help of a translator.
About 10 minutes later, Benitez was inside his home relaxing when he heard gunshots, he said.
“I found him lying down,” Benitez said of finding his younger brother’s lifeless body.
According to courtroom testimony, he cradled Gutierrez in his front yard, covered in blood from the many gunshot wounds, until an ambulance arrived.
Testimony is expected to continue at 9 a.m. today before Judge Steve Burgess at the Denton County Courts Building on McKinney Street.
MEGAN GRAY-HATFIELD can be reached at 940-566-6885 and via Twitter at @MGrayNews.
