Killing spree terrorized Gardnerville and Reno a year ago, suspect in slayings headed to trial this summer

It has been one year now since our community was gripped with fear following the four brutal murders of senior citizens in Gardnerville and Reno, and the trial for Wilber Martinez-Guzman, the young man accused of committing the crimes, has been pushed off until August 31, 2020.

Martinez-Guzman’s public defenders recently took a trip to El Salvador to interview family members and review his medical files, and believe his IQ is substantially lower than previously thought, according to his attorney, Washoe County Public Defender John Arrascada in an October 4 Motion for Continuance. In addition, they believe he may have been exposed to pesticides and fertilizers while working as a farm hand in El Salvador, which could have altered his cognitive functioning even further.

“Based on the investigation to date, there is a good faith basis to believe that Mr. Guzman is ineligible for the death penalty because he may be intellectually disabled,” said Arrascada in the motion. “There could be no greater insult to public justice that to execute someone that as a matter of law is ineligible for capital punishment.”

The defense attorneys were able to locate a Spanish-speaking neuropsychologist and mitigation specialist, they said in the motion, who would be able to provide a report by May and testify during the summer.

The defense was initially asking for the trial to be continued to as late as 2021, according to the motion, which would have been two years following his arrest before his trial were to take place. The attorneys argued they needed more time to determine whether or not Martinez-Guzman had an intellectual disability, and that the original continuance date of April 2020 would not be sufficient.

However, Judge Connie Steinheimer instead granted a delay until August 31, 2020.

What We Know:

Sometime during the night of January 9-10, 2019, Constance (Connie) Koontz, 56 was shot in killed in her home in Gardnerville. There did not appear to be any forced entry into her home; the main garage door was open, the door from the garage into the home was ajar, and the garage door to the backyard was ajar. She was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head with a .22 caliber firearm, and no shell casing was located on scene. Numerous items were stolen from her residence including jewelry, an Apple watch, iPhone, and an iMac. No shells were found at the scene.

Only two days later, Sophia Renken, 74, was killed sometime between 11:30 A.M. on Jan. 12, and 1 p.m. on Jan 13. She was also shot and killed in her home in Gardnerville. The main gate to her property was askew, and a gate to a dog run on the back of the property was open. She was shot four times, and at least five shots were expended inside the residence. A .22 caliber “snake shot” round was found on the hallway floor. Investigators believe she was shot in the front of the head, and then three more times as she was attempting to retreat into her bedroom. No shells were found at the scene.

Between 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 15 and 4 p.m. on Jan 16, Gerald (Jerry, 81) and Sharon (Sherri, 80) David were both shot and killed in their home in Reno. Their home had been burglarized previously on or about Jan. 3 or 4, during which several guns were stolen from a trailer on their property, along with a skill saw, fishing poles, a hunting bag, and ammunition. An open door leading into a mudroom in the rear of the residence was found open, and Sherri was found in the mudroom. Jerry was found in the master bedroom. Both had been shot in the head. The house had been ransacked, and property was missing, including the contents of two empty gun cabinets. A live .22 caliber “snake shot” round was laying on the floor of the kitchen. No shells were found at the scene.

On Jan. 13, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office detectives were granted a search warrant seeking records and connection information with Koontz’s stolen Apple Watch from Apple. It was learned that the watch attempted to connect to Apple services using an account that did not belong to Ms. Koontz, and had occurred after her murder. The account belonged to Martinez-Guzman’s mother, who lived in Carson City.

During the investigation, detectives learned that Martinez-Guzman had worked with a landscape services company at the Davids’ property from April 2018 through July 2018.

On Jan. 18, law enforcement agencies from Washoe County, Douglas County, and Carson City, along with the FBI initiated a surveillance and intelligence gathering operation on Martinez-Guzman and his mother. They watched Martinez-Guzman leaving and returning to his mother’s residence frequently.

On Jan. 19, detectives learned Martinez-Guzman pawned a gold “Elks” ring in Carson City on Jan. 17, which was stolen from the scene of the Davids’ murders. It was also determined that he had pawned 16 silver rings in Carson City on Jan. 14, which were stolen from the scene of Koontz’s murder on Jan. 9-10.

On Jan. 19 at 3:50 p.m., Martinez-Guzman was contacted by members of the Carson City Sheriff’s Office, who arrested him on possession of stolen pretty and burglary in Carson City related to the pawn transactions.

Martinez-Guzman told detectives he was previously employed at the Davids’ home as a landscaper, and that he had burglarized the property “a few weeks” before the murders of Koontz and Renken in Douglas County. He said he went to the Reno residence three times, and burglarized the out-buildings the first two times. He said he took only a “machine” which he described as “one of those small ones to cut a thing.”

On the second burglary, he admitted to stealing fishing poles and a firearm that were located within a trailer.

He then admitted to using that same firearm to kill Koontz and Renken, along with the Davids’.

He told detectives he entered Koontz’ residence through an open/unlocked back door, and that she had come out of her room and he’d shot her. He then stole property from her home.

He told detectives at Renken’s home, he entered through an open/unlocked back door, and a woman woke up and came out. He said he shot her several times and then ran, but was adamant he did not steal anything from her home because he “got scared.”

He told detectives at the Davids’ home, he arrived at around 6 a.m. and went through the mud room. He said: “The lady was was coming out. I got scared and shot at her.” He said the man was sitting on the bed getting dressed when he shot him. He said he then stole guns and anything else he thought he could use and left.

He provided a location to the stolen firearms he had buried in Carson City, and said the firearm he used to commit the murders was located in the car he was driving when he was arrested.

Deputies located the area he had described and located a “large hole dug in the ground.” They found guns, ammunition, and gun cases belonging to the Davids wrapped in a large tarp within the hole.

In the vehicle, they located a .22 caliber revolver. At his mother’s home, they located items stolen from the Koontz and David residences.

DNA evidence was gathered from the .22 caliber “snake shot” round located at the Davids’ residence, along with evidence from the grip of the .22 caliber revolver, and both returned with a match for Martinez-Guzman.

He later told investigators he had robbed and killed the victims because he needed money to buy methamphetamine in order to support his drug addiction.

After being arrested in Carson City and charged with the stolen-property charges, he was transferred to Washoe County fo face the murder charges. In an unprecedented action, Douglas County and Washoe County agreed to prosecute the crimes together.

After his initial arrest in Washoe County, Martinez-Guzman was initially given a trial date of April 6, 2020.

His defense asked for Martinez-Guzman’s confession be thrown out based on “insufficient evidence and hearsay.”

His defense has also argued that Martinez-Guzman is intellectually challenged, and could potentially have an IQ as low as 55. This is important because if a defendant is found to have an IQ lower than 70, the death penalty is not allowed. Prosecution for the murders announced early on they would be seeking the death penalty.

Prosecution is also facing issues with the fact that Douglas and Washoe Counties are co-prosecuting the case. Martinez-Guzman’s attorneys argued to the Supreme Court that a Washoe County grand jury had no authority to indict him on charges that occurred in another county.

Prosecutors argued he could be indicted by a Washoe County jury because Martinez-Guzman committed all four homicides with the same gun he stole from Reno.

At this time, Martinez-Guzman is still being held in Washoe County awaiting his 2020 trial, and Washoe County provides monthly updates to the public on any developments within the case.

You can read the full affidavit below.

Washoe County Affidavit 1 by on Scribd

Criminal Complaint filed in... by on Scribd