Plea agreement made in teen girl’s slaying

Kim Smith

Thursday, May 31, 2001 | 10:30 a.m.

A Las Vegas man arrested along with three teenagers in the Jan. 20 gang-related shooting death of a teenage girl took a deal Wednesday and agreed to testify against the others.

Miguel Jimenez-Arambula, 23, told District Judge Nancy Saitta he loaded the gun that killed Esmeralda Martinez, 16, and he drove the others away from the scene.

Jimenez-Arambula pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and accessory after the fact to murder.

As a result of the plea agreement, Jimenez-Arambula will receive two to 10 years on the conspiracy charge and one to five years on the accessory count.

It will be up to Saitta to decide July 25 if the sentences should run at the same time or one after the other.

Police say Isvi Fabila, 17, knocked on Martinez's front door while Eduardo Cisneros, 16, and Richard Macias, 18, who was carrying a 9 mm handgun, remained on her driveway.

The girls argued, and gunfire erupted. A bullet hit Martinez in the chest, killing her instantly.

Police believe the suspects left but returned so Fabila could get out of the car and fire another shot at Martinez's house.

A police officer who was nearby heard the shots, saw the suspects' vehicle leave the Martinez home and pulled it over near Vegas Drive and Tonopah Avenue, police said. The 9 mm gun found in the vehicle had been reported stolen in December.

Deputy Public Defender Howard Brooks, who represents Jimenez-Arambula, told Saitta that although his client never got out of the car, he loaded the gun for Macias when Macias handed it to him. Brooks said Jimenez-Arambula also knew the group was going to Martinez's house to confront her about insults she had made.

The three teenagers are scheduled for trial Nov. 5.