Jury recommends life in prison for former MLB prospect convicted of triple murder in Riverside County

A former MLB prospect for the Tampa Bay Rays convicted in a triple murder in Corona could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Earlier this month, Brandon Willie Martin, 27, was convicted in the murders of his disabled father, uncle, and an ADT alarm installer at their family home in Corona.

On Sept. 17, 2015, the three men were beaten to death with a black wooden baseball bat engraved with Brandon Martin’s name.

Their bodies were discovered by Brandon Martin's cousin the next day who then called 911.

Martin was arrested on Sept. 18, 2015, after police spotted him driving his uncle's Ford Raptor pickup truck.

He led Corona police officers on a pursuit, before ditching the truck and breaking into someone's home, then jumping from a second-story window. He fought a police K-9 before finally being placed under arrest.

Brandon's father, Michael Martin, 64, and his uncle Barry Swanson, 58, died at the scene. Alarm installer Ricky Andersen, 62, was pronounced dead two days after the attack.

According to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, Swanson was at the family home to install an alarm because the family feared Brandon Martin.

Martin was found guilty of first-degree murder and was eligible for the death penalty.

Following several days of testimony and evidence, jurors came to the decision to recommend life in prison, rather than the death penalty.

This is only a recommendation, the judge still has to decide on whether he agrees with the sentence. Life in prison without parole and the death penalty are the only two possible sentences in a special circumstance murder case.

Martin is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan 29, 2021 at the Hall of Justice in Riverside.

Brandon Martin was the 38th overall pick in Major League Baseball draft, selected by the Tampa Bay Rays.

He spent three years in the minor leagues before being released by the team in March 2015.