Former Tampa Bay Rays prospect Brandon Martin was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder on Wednesday, per NBC Los Angeles. He is accused of using a baseball bat to murder his father, uncle, and home alarm installer.
Additional charges include resisting and evading arrest, automobile theft, and injuring a police canine. It took the Riverside jury less than a day to discuss the allegations and deem him guilty.
Prosecutors are calling for the death penalty. Martin’s sentencing will take place on Monday morning in the Riverside County Superior Court.
According to the prosecution, the 27-year-old was experiencing psychiatric issues. The California Department of Mental Health evaluated Martin two days before the crime. That came before death threats towards both his mother and father.
He threatened to kill his father and was choking his mother while holding scissors, per The Los Angeles Times.
After his release, Martin traveled straight to his father’s house. Arriving at around 6 p.m, the house was occupied by Martin’s 64-year-old father, 51-year-old uncle Ricky Lee Anderson, and 62-year-old Barry Swanson. Swanson was installing a new security system for Michael Martin due to his son’s violent behavior.
Martin used a bat with his name engraved in it to commit the triple-murder. His father and Swanson died at the scene. Anderson passed away in a coma two days later.
Per reports, the former Rays player fled the scene in Swanson’s truck and hid overnight. An off-duty officer noticed Martin and took him into custody after chasing him down.
Short Baseball Career For Martin
The Tampa Bay Rays selected Martin with the 38th pick in the 2011 MLB draft. Dubbed the next Derek Jeter, he received a signing bonus of $860,000.
He never made it out of the single-A division. After three seasons of hitting .211/.281/.371, respectively, the Rays released him in March 2015.
This is Martin’s first felony conviction.
