FORT WORTH -- The day that Gerardo Martinez was shot, there were multiple fights at Westcreek Park near his home in southeast Fort Worth, his sister testified Tuesday.
Maricela Martinez said her 19-year-old brother was trying to break up one of the fights -- between his girlfriend, Alyssa Rivera, and a woman named Amber Fernandez -- when he was fatally shot by Fernandez's boyfriend, Antonio Martinez.Antonio Martinez, 35, is on trial this week on a murder charge. The men are not related.The women were "yelling and cursing at each other," Maricela Martinez testified. "They were on the ground and people were jumping in. ... Amber and Alyssa were fighting. We tried to separate them. That's when my brother was shot in the head."I got on my knees and tried to call his name, but he would not respond. My brother went to the hospital and the doctors said he would die in five days, but he lived for six or seven months. He could not move, he could not use his voice."Gerardo Martinez was shot June 13, 2011, and was in hospice care until his death on Jan. 9, 2012.The arguments that triggered the fights at the park had started earlier in the day. The first confrontation was between four women at La Gran Plaza, 4200 South Freeway, witness Betty Araujo testified.Disputes escalated as the arguing parties moved to Westcreek Park in the 6000 block of Jennie Drive."Gerardo reached to get Amber, and then all I heard was a shot," Araujo said.Testimony is scheduled to continue this morning in state District Judge Louis Sturns' court.Mitch Mitchell, 817-390-7752Twitter: @mitchmitchel3Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
