Rodney Eric Martin has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a man at a South Bay motel.
Martin, 31, was acquitted of first-degree murder by a jury in Dec., 2017, but the same panel deadlocked 6-6 concerning the death of Raymond Lipscomb, 27. Lipscomb was shot in the torso on April 12, 2016 at 1:20 a.m. at the E-Z 8 Motel in the 1000 block of Outer Road in the Palm City area.
Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sontag set sentencing for Nov. 27. Martin remains in jail.
Deputy District Attorney Matthew Greco said Martin will be sentenced to six years in prison, which is the same sentence anticipated for co-defendant Maurice Leon Hayes, 23, who also pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Hayes will be sentenced on Dec. 14 and he also remains in jail.
Murder charges were dismissed against both men. Martin went on trial for murder in December 2017, but a number of jurors became ill with the flu and other ailments and alternate jurors were used to replace them. Then Martin’s defense attorney became ill for several days. A full panel of 12 jurors did begin deliberations on Dec. 28, 2017, and they acquitted Martin of first-degree murder. They deadlocked 6-6 on second-degree murder.
A third person was charged as an accessory. He testified, and charges were later dismissed against him.
