Man facing 25 years to life in prison in stalking case after guilty verdict in first jury trial since pandemic

SAN ANTONIO – After almost four hours of deliberating on Friday, the first jury to hear a criminal case since the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a guilty verdict to a man on trial for stalking.

Bobby Martinez could now be facing anywhere from 25 years to life in prison.

While a third-degree felony like stalking is only punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Martinez is facing a tougher punishment because of his past criminal history and two prior trips to jail.

The stalking trial of Bobby Martinez began on Tuesday. Testimony revealed that the victim, his estranged wife’s boss, had been harassed and threatened by Martinez in July 2019 over 20 times at her home and over 30 times at her job.

Martinez had no reaction when his guilty verdict was read by 226th Criminal District Judge Velia Meza.

He will be sentenced on August 19.

In March 2020, the courts were forced to close due to the pandemic. They reopened to in-person jury trials and hearings on June 1. While facing a huge backlog, local administration judge Ron Rangel told KSAT 12 earlier this week that in the past several weeks over 200 cases had been resolved without going to trial.

>>Sign up for KSAT 12′s free Courts newsletter here<<

Find more stories in our Courts section:

• ‘Threatened me so many times’: Trial begins for San Antonio man accused of stalking estranged wife’s boss
• ‘The pain doesn’t go away’: Family gives statement after death penalty overturned in Noah Espada’s capital murder
• Open Court: Mother of baby James Chairez to appear for first time; get to know Judge Jefferson Moore; courthouse restrictions eased.