After three weeks of testimony and two days of deliberations, a Harris County jury found David Martinez, 58, guilty of first-degree murder in the 2025 killing of his business partner, Robert Chen. The conviction marks the end of a case that exposed the bitter rivalry between two energy entrepreneurs whose partnership imploded amid accusations of fraud.
Prosecutors argued that Martinez paid $100,000 to a convicted felon to carry out the hit on Chen, who was shot outside his office building in Houston's Energy Corridor in September 2025. The prosecution's case relied heavily on recorded conversations obtained through a court-authorized wiretap.
"This was a calculated, premeditated murder born out of corporate greed," District Attorney Kim Ogg said. "David Martinez decided that his former partner's life was worth less than his share of their company, and he acted on that calculation." Martinez faces a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Martinez's defense attorneys maintained that he was the victim of an elaborate frame-up by the actual killer, who they claimed was trying to reduce his own sentence by implicating Martinez. "The recordings prove only that Mr. Martinez was present in conversations, not that he hired anyone to commit murder," defense attorney Michael Brooks argued.
Chen's family expressed gratitude for the verdict while acknowledging the emotional toll of the trial. "No verdict can undo what happened to our son," said Chen's mother, Maria. "But we hope this conviction provides some measure of justice."