A 25-year-old Homestead man is headed to prison following a road rage shooting in Key Largo in March 2023.
Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward recently announced the conviction of Baldemar Martinez, who will spend the next 20 months in a Florida prison.
The incident unfolded in a school zone near MM 104 on U.S. 1 in Key Largo. According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Martinez and the victim were involved in a traffic dispute around 8 a.m., which then escalated after both parties pulled to the side of the road. Following a heated verbal exchange, Martinez returned to his white Dodge Ram pickup truck and fired four to five rounds from a Beretta .40 caliber pistol into the victim’s vehicle tires.
The victim, who was not injured, was able to identify Martinez’s workplace based on a decal seen on a van. Deputies responded to the business, located Martinez and recovered the firearm from his truck. Martinez gave a full confession on scene and was positively identified by the victim during a show-up conducted by detectives.
Martinez was found guilty of aggravated assault with a firearm, discharging a firearm from a vehicle and criminal mischief.
On June 6, Circuit Judge James Morgan sentenced Martinez to 20 months in the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections. In addition to his prison sentence, Martinez was ordered to pay fines, court costs and his driver’s license was suspended as part of the penalty.
Ward noted the incident was an “outrageous act of violence committed in broad daylight, and worse, in a school zone.”
“Baldemar Martinez made a conscious choice to escalate a traffic dispute into a life-threatening encounter by discharging a firearm in public,” Ward said. He fired at another person’s vehicle with the intent to intimidate or cause harm. If you let your temper take the wheel and respond to road rage with a gun, you won’t just lose your cool — you’ll lose your freedom. You will go to prison. Monroe County has zero tolerance for this kind of reckless, armed aggression, and my office will be relentless in pursuing justice in cases involving such outrageous acts of violence.”
Chief Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield said cooperation of the victim and the strong case developed by law enforcement led to a conviction and meaningful sentence.
“Assistant State Attorney Trey Evans did an outstanding job prosecuting this case. His attention to detail, strategic preparation, and professionalism ensured the public’s safety was prioritized,” Mansfield said.
