Texas | Jury recommends death penalty for man convicted of killing San Benito police lieutenant

A Cameron County jury recommended the death penalty for Rogelio Martinez for killing a San Benito police lieutenant during a police chase in Brownsville.

Martinez stared forward as the judge announced the recommendation. Lt. Milton Resendez's family told Martinez in court that their lives will never be the same.

Resendez's wife and siblings walked past cameras and declined to speak with reporters. Inside the courtroom, where no audio or video recording was allowed, Resendez's sister Jackie raised her voice at Martinez during impact statements.

Pictures show the moments when Jackie said she hoped Martinez's family suffers the same pain her family has. She blamed Martinez for the hospital visits and medication she has had to take because of emotional distress since her brother's death.

Resendez's widow also said she has to wake up every day and live with the absence Martinez created. Some jurors wiped away tears while she spoke.

"This individual made the free will, the free choice, to take Milton's life that day," Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz said.

Saenz says the decision reinforces his office's commitment to supporting law enforcement and calls police the community's first line of defense.

The jury spent about 6 days deciding whether Martinez should get the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"When you take the life of a law enforcement official in the line of duty, this jury made it very clear that we, the D.A.'s office and the community, are going to come after you, and you're going to be held accountable, and you're going to be sentenced appropriately—and that is the death sentence," Saenz said.

Defense attorney Rigoberto Flores said he respects the jury's decision but disagrees with it.

"We don't believe that we answer one tragedy with another—by ending the life of another human being whose life is capable of redemption," Flores said.

During the punishment phase, jurors heard testimony about Martinez's difficult upbringing.

When asked about that testimony, Saenz said people should not blame Child Protective Services or law enforcement for how a child is raised and that responsibility rests with parents.

The case now moves to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for an automatic review.

Saenz said the appeals process will take time, and his office plans to defend the case through that process.

Source: KRGV news, Staff, October 27, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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