Suspect formally charged with murders in Gardnerville and Reno
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Mon, 01/28/2019 - 1:43pm
A man arrested Jan. 19 in Carson City has now been formally charged with murder in four slayings that happened earlier this month in Gardnerville and South Reno, according to district attorneys in Douglas and Washoe counties.
A press conference was held Monday at the Washoe County District Attorney's Office, formally charging Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman, 19, with murder after two Gardnerville women and an elderly Reno couple were found shot to death inside their homes.
In a potentially historic case, the DAs offices from both Douglas County and Washoe County have filed joint murder charges in Washoe County, as opposed to separate charges in Gardnerville and Reno. See the press conference video here.
It was also said that the Washoe and Douglas County DAs will be working closely with Carson City, where Martinez-Guzman is currently being held, to prioritize charges and move Martinez-Guzman to Washoe County to face murder charges.
Martinez-Guzman, who lived in Carson City and is from El Salvador, has also been charged with 36 counts in Carson City after his initial arrest, ranging in counts from burglary to obtaining funds under false pretenses, to possessing firearms while being an illegal immigrant.
You can read the full list of charges in Carson City here.
Martinez-Guzman was apprehended in Carson City on Jan. 19 in the Carson Mall Parking Lot after he was stopped following a surveillance investigation. Law enforcement agents were concerned he may try to dispose of evidence linking him to the crimes and took him into custody.
The four victims were Connie Koontz of Gardnerville, Sophia Renken of Gardnerville, and Gerald and Sharon David of South Reno.
Law Enforcement announced in a press release that Martinez-Guzman had admitted to the murders, and had admitted to stealing a .22 pistol from the Davids on a previous date before using the gun to kill the four victims, coming back to the Davids house last.
After the Davids were killed he also stole an additional eleven guns from their residence and buried them in Carson City wrapped in a tarp.
The Davids property was burglarized a total of three times, according to the DA.
No items have been recovered yet as having been owned by Renken, the second victim, but evidence is still being sorted through.
