WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — An Allentown man will serve decades in state prison for killing another man outside a MacArthur Road store in December, according to authorities.
Christian Martinez-Ramos, 36, was sentenced Monday to serve 30 to 60 years after he pleaded guilty to murder and conspiracy to commit murder, both third-degree felonies, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
He was the third person to plead guilty to charges stemming from the fatal shooting of 46-year-old Hector Garcia Gomez, of Palmerton.
Garcia Gomez was shot multiple times around 6 p.m. last Dec. 7 in the parking lot of Loco Hot Deals on MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township. He died later that day from his injuries, authorities said.
Court documents said Garcia Gomez and Martinez-Ramos fought outside a Whitehall Township AutoZone on Dec. 4. Martinez-Ramos was accused of pulling the trigger in Garcia Gomez’s fatal shooting three days later.
Garcia Gomez’s wife — Brenda Rodriguez, 52, of Palmerton — pleaded guilty last month to a felony charge of conspiracy–aggravated assault after a charge of criminal solicitation/criminal homicide was withdrawn in an agreement.
Rodriguez is due to be sentenced Nov. 5 and could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, Holihan said.
Liz Marie Pacheco, who lived with Martinez-Ramos, was sentenced to five to 10 years in state prison after pleading guilty to third-degree murder.
District Attorney Gavin Holihan dropped charges of homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide, aggravated assault-attempting to cause serious bodily injury and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault — all first-degree felonies — as part of Pacheco’s plea deal.