Mexican Man Sentenced For 2021 Paterson Double Fatal Stabbing

Saturday, August 9, 2025, 11:55 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

PATERSON, NJ.- A 36-year-old Mexican national who was illegally residing in Paterson, New Jersey, learned he would be nearly eighty years old when he is finally deported, after being sentenced on Thursday, for stabbing two men to death during a July 2024 party in the City of Paterson, New Jersey.

     According to Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, on Thursday, August 7, 2025, Jose Martinez, 36, of Mexico, appeared in Passaic County Superior Court and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed to two terms of 30 years in New Jersey State Prison without parole to be served concurrently for his April, 2025 conviction of two counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and related weapons offenses.

Martinez Was Convicted In April For The Double Homicide

     On April 16, 2025, following a nearly month-long trial in Passaic County Superior Court in Paterson, New Jersey, a Jury found Martinez guilty of first-degree Murder; first-degree Conspiracy to Commit Murder; Aggravated Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury; Unlawful Possession of a Weapon; and Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose. 

     During the trial that began on March 18, 2025, Passaic County Assistant Prosecutor Ali Y. Ozbek and Senior Assistant Prosecutor Evan Mongiardo presented evidence that on July 5, 2021, Martinez and his brother and co-defendant, Francisco Martinez, also of Mexico, brutally stabbed Jamie Hernandez, Johnny Jimenez, and Jeremiah Rivera during an altercation in the parking lot of a local school located on Totowa Avenue next to Martinez’s paterson, New Jersey home. Both Hernandez and Jimenez would later succumb to their injuries. 

Martinez’s Brother Pleaded Guilty In May For His Role In The Murders

     Martinez’s brother and co-defendant, Francisco Martinez, appeared in Passaic County Superior Court on May 20, 2025, and pleaded guilty before Judge Mohammed to one count of first-degree Manslaughter. In return for the guilty plea, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office will recommend at sentencing, which has been scheduled for August 27, 2025, that Francisco Martinez be sentenced to 15 years in New Jersey State Prison, subject to the No Early Release Act, which will require him to serve 85% of his custodial term before becoming eligible for parole.

     Upon completion of their terms of imprisonment, both Jose and Francisco Martinez will face immediate deportation proceedings and be removed from the United States, back to Mexico.