Desert Hot Springs man sentenced to 50-to-life for killing girlfriend’s lover
Editor's Note: The original version of this article had the sentence as 25 years to life. This was incorrect. Jose Ernesto Martinez was sentenced to 50 years to life
INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) - A Desert Hot Springs man convicted of killing his girlfriend's lover was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.
Jose Ernesto Martinez, 32, was found guilty of first-degree murder in April 2025.
Martinez was arrested June 26, 2021, on suspicion of gunning down then-27-year-old Isaac Valles of Rancho Mirage earlier that morning. He allegedly killed Valles at the conclusion of a domestic dispute, according to the Cathedral City Police Department, which did not elaborate on the nature of the argument.
Officers sent to the 31800 block of Neuma Drive about 2:40 a.m. that day found the victim lying in the roadway, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, police said.
Despite first responders' attempts to revive him, Valles was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives collected "ample witness statements and crime scene evidence'' that pointed to Martinez as the suspect, according to the department. He was arrested in Desert Hot Springs about two hours after police initially arrived on scene, jail records show.
He had no documented felony convictions in Riverside County at the time.
