Man sentenced to 40 years for murder in 2018 Fort Worth drug deal turned robbery

A man was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty in a 2018 Fort Worth murder case, the Tarrant County criminal district attorney announced Thursday.

Robert Rico, 24, pleaded guilty to engaging in organized crime-murder and was sentenced for the death of Diego Martinez, 23.

Martinez was hit with a hammer, stabbed multiple times and shot during a drug deal turned robbery on Nov. 1, 2018, according to the district attorney’s office.

Three suspects were arrested in connection with the death of Martinez, who showed up during the drug deal with a kitchen scale to prove the drugs were the amount promised, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the Star-Telegram.

Daniel Rosales, one of the three suspects, was accused of yelling at Rico to get out of the way before opening fire with a shotgun, killing Martinez.

Rico agreed to buy half a kilo of meth from Martinez the night of Nov. 1, he told detectives.. Sonita Rosales, his girlfriend, would come along as would her cousin, Daniel Rosales, according to the warrant.

Daniel Rosales drove a white truck to the deal; his cousin sat on the passenger side. Rico sat in the back seat behind Daniel Rosales.

Shortly before 9:30 p.m., the trio pulled up near a home in the 1200 block of Blalock Avenue. Before they arrived, Rico asked Daniel Rosales to give him something, meaning a weapon, in case Martinez threatened him in some way. Sonita Rosales also asked for a weapon and got a knife from her cousin, the warrant said.

Martinez was standing near a curb when the trio drove up. He got into the truck with the three suspects and they drove around the block. A fight broke out between Rico and Martinez in the back seat, and the victim tried to get out.

At some point, Sonita Rosales stabbed Martinez before Daniel Rosales yelled at Rico to move out of the way and shot Martinez with a shotgun, according to the warrant.

Rico pushed Martinez out of the truck as they drove away. The suspects were arrested separately days after the shooting.

Daniel and Sonita Rosales face charges of capital murder, according to court records. Their trial dates have not been set.