Oakland: Case advances against 2021 murder suspect as defense brings up gang ties, potential missing gun

Luis Rodriguez-Baires, 29, was held to answer on charges he murdered Nathaniel Martinez, who a defense attorney claims was a Norteño gang member.

OAKLAND — A local resident was held to answer on charges that he murdered a man during a dispute and fired off a gun months earlier, after evidence from both crime scenes was matched to the same gun, court records show.

Luis Rodriguez-Baires, 29, was charged with murder days after the April 18, 2021 killing of Nathaniel Martinez in Oakland. Witnesses said the two argued before the shooting, but at least one person who was there placed blame in a different direction, according to a transcript of Rodriguez-Baires’ preliminary hearing.

“We have that one witness that says that Mr. Rodriguez was the guy that shot,” Judge Mark McCannon said in court before upholding the charges. “There’s also a witness that says it could have been the driver. For trial purposes that might be a problem, but for preliminary hearing purposes, it’s not.”

Preliminary hearings are held so a judge can evaluate the prosecution’s evidence in felony cases and decide if there’s enough to file charges. The legal standard is much lower than what juries are given for criminal trials.

The witnesses against Rodriguez-Baires included a man named Jossue Portillo, who testified that he was with Rodriguez-Baires on the day of the homicide. He testified that after Rodriguez-Baires left the car on the 1700 block of 28th Avenue, he heard three to four shots and then saw Rodriguez-Baires return to their car with a gun in his hand. Portillo testified under a grant of immunity by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and acknowledged that he had been arrested by Oakland police before becoming a witness.

Rodriguez-Baires’ lawyer also questioned police about Martinez’s status as a gang member. Oakland police Detective Richard Vass acknowledged that Martinez was a validated member of a Northern California-based gang and that Martinez’s brother had showed up to the crime scene loudly declaring that the area was part of his territory.

At the hearing’s end, the defense argued that there was evidence Martinez and his killer engaged in a gun battle but acknowledged a potential second firearm was missing from the shooting scene. Deputy District Attorney Kevin Asvitt, the prosecutor, argued he had established that Rodriguez-Baires had shot Martinez multiple times and then fled the scene that day.

“I believe there’s sufficient evidence to show that this act was done intentionally and that this was not at all in a heat of passion that would reduce this down to a voluntary manslaughter for the purposes of a preliminary hearing,” Asvitt said at the hearing’s conclusion.

Rodriguez-Baires has pleaded not guilty and is next due in court on Jan. 24. He remains in jail on a no-bail hold, court records show.