Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks, right, answers a reporter's question during a news conference in Reno, Nevada on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, about murder charges filed against Wilber Martinez-Guzman in the killings of four people in northern Nevada earlier this month as Douglas County Sheriff Dan Coverley, left, and Douglas County District Attorney Mark Jackson, center, look on. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)
Republished January 28, 2019 - 2:33 PM
Original Publication Date January 28, 2019 - 12:31 PM
RENO, Nev. - The Latest on the case against a 19-year-old from El Salvador charged with killing four people in northern Nevada (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
Documents say a 19-year-old Salvadoran man charged in four deaths in Nevada worked last year as a landscaper at the home of a Reno couple he's accused of killing, using a gun that he stole from their property.
Court documents filed Monday in Reno say Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman told investigators he shot 80-year-old Sharon David when she found him breaking into her home Jan. 16.
They say Martinez-Guzman admitted also killing her husband, Gerald David, and used the same gun to kill Connie Koontz and Sophia Renken in their homes in nearby Gardnerville.
An investigator's affidavit says DNA evidence matches Martinez-Guzman to the gun, and that someone tried to activate an Apple watch stolen from Koontz using an Apple account used by Martinez-Guzman's mother.
The mother hasn't been charged with a crime.
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12:50 p.m.
Prosecutors say evidence shows that a 19-year-old Salvadoran immigrant accused of being in the U.S. illegally acted alone in four killings at homes in northern Nevada earlier this month.
Washoe (WAH'-shoh) and Douglas county district attorneys Mark Jackson and Chris Hicks said Monday that it could be about a month before they decide whether Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman will face the death penalty.
They announced that Martinez-Guzman will be tried in Reno.
He's currently in jail in Carson City following his arrest there on Jan. 19 on an immigration hold.
The prosecutors say he'll soon be brought to Reno for prosecution on murder and burglary charges in the shooting deaths of Gerald and Sharon David in Reno and Connie Koontz and Sophia Renken in nearby Gardnerville.
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12:20 p.m.
Prosecutors say a 19-year-old Salvadoran immigrant accused of being in the U.S. illegally has been charged with murder in shooting deaths of four people in their homes in Nevada.
District attorneys from two counties announced the charges against Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman on Monday.
Martinez-Guzman has been jailed since his arrest Jan. 19 in the state capital of Carson City.
A sheriff's report says Martinez-Guzman admitted killing a Reno couple with a handgun that was stolen from their home.
The report says the gun is also believed to have been used to kill two women in the town of Gardnerville.
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6:50 a.m.
Nevada prosecutors are set to announce their plans for the prosecution of a 19-year-old El Salvadoran immigrant identified as the prime suspect in four killings.
Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman has been jailed since his arrest more than a week ago. He was charged Thursday with possessing weapons and selling jewelry belonging to several victims.
Prosecutors say they'll announce their prosecution plans at noon on Monday. Authorities have said Martinez-Guzman was in the U.S. illegally.
A sheriff's investigative report obtained by The Associated Press says Martinez-Guzman admitted killing a Reno couple, using a handgun he said he stole earlier from their home.
The report filed with a judge says the gun is also believed to have been used to kill two women in the town of Gardnerville.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019