On January 22, 2017, 32-year-old Ernest Pepe Martinez of Ogden, Utah, was found dead inside his vehicle in the parking lot of the SNS Quick Stop at 110 Patterson Street after a shots-fired call at about 12:44 a.m. Martinez died of gunshot wounds; two other people were in the car and were not injured despite numerous rounds striking the vehicle. Stray bullets also hit a nearby occupied house without causing injuries.

Ogden Police, assisted by the Weber County Homicide Task Force and Weber County Crime Scene Investigators, obtained surveillance footage from the store that showed the suspected shooter. Public release of the images and a widely shared Facebook appeal generated hundreds of tips that led investigators to identify 18-year-old Thomas TJ Lovato. He was located on foot after a brief chase and arrested; police said he had been seen on social media in clothing matching the suspect and posing with firearms.

Lovato was booked on suspicion of first-degree felony murder. He later pleaded guilty to reduced charges of manslaughter and attempted murder; in October 2018 a judge sentenced him to concurrent terms that included at least three years and up to life for attempted murder and one to fifteen years for manslaughter. Martinez’s family expressed anguish that the plea deal did not, in their view, deliver justice for him.

Does anyone have additional information about Martinez’s last known movements or witnesses who were in the area that night?