Mexican drug cartel ‘enforcer’ pleads guilty to 9 killings
A man who says he was an enforcer for a Mexican drug cartel has pleaded guilty in Visalia to nine counts of murder in California.
Jose Manuel Martinez entered the pleas Tuesday and will be sentenced next month to life in prison without the possibility of parole under a plea deal.
He also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of a 17-year-old.
Martinez was extradited to the state last month from Alabama, where he was serving a 50-year sentence after pleading guilty to shooting a man to death in March 2013.
After being arrested in 2013, the 53-year-old Martinez opened up to investigators about his violent career.
Authorities have said that he acknowledged killings across the U.S. but has refused to name his cartel associates. Authorities say they believe Martinez because he gave details that nobody else knows.
The cases in California involve the killings of people in Tulare, Kern and Santa Barbara counties.
ALSO
After struggling, Gov. Brown makes assisted suicide legal in California
As San Francisco rents soar, tenants still willing to pay for earthquake safety
Californians’ love of class-action lawsuits to be tested by Supreme Court
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
