‘Completely unacceptable’: Outrage after family of handyman shot by gang member ‘disturbed by construction noise’ realizes meaning of killer’s head tattoo

Jesus Valdez, Jr.

Main: Jesus Valdez, Jr., prior arrest from 2018 for choking his mother. Right inset: Valdez appears in court with 187 tattoo visible to Tony Martinez’s family (KUTV).

A Surenos 13 gang member paroled multiple times after violent offenses shot and killed a handyman over “construction noise” while on a meth binge more than four years ago, only for his own father to tell Utah investigators that his “motherf—er” son “did it, there’s no question about it.” When the admitted murderer showed up to court for sentencing last month and learned his fate, a tattoo on the back of his shaved head prominently displayed the number “187,” adding yet another layer of outrage to the already alarming case.

Jesus Valdez, Jr., is going to spend the next 15 years to life behind bars for shooting 39-year-old Melbin “Tony” Martinez repeatedly on May 28, 2020, as the father to a young daughter worked on a house in West Valley City, next door to where his killer lived.

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