PLANT CITY, Fla. — The suspect in a murder case that took place in Manatee County nearly two years ago was arrested in Plant City after detectives tracked him down.
Alex Martinez, 34, was found by the U.S. Marshals Task Force on Monday. He was wanted for felony murder with a firearm for allegedly killing Diomicio Primitivo Ibarra-Hernandez, 26, during a drug deal at the Sunshine Skyway South Fishing Pier, according to Manatee County deputies.
The homicide happened around 5:15 p.m. on Oct. 14, 2022, and Ibarra-Hernandez was found dead inside a car after multiple people reported hearing several gunshots and seeing another car drive away.
Martinez was identified as the suspect in the case back in December 2023. He met with Hernandez on the pier to buy "a large quantity of marijuana" before shots were fired, detectives said in another news release.
Officials said he was eluding law enforcement for more than a year and a half, according to a news release from June.
Martinez was served on the murder warrant and charged with failure to obey a written promise to appear and providing false information to law enforcement. He was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail and will be extradited to Manatee County at a later date.