A Union County man was sentenced to 40 years in state prison Wednesday for the strangling death of his 19-year-old girlfriend in 2020, authorities announced Friday.
Bryan Gonzalez Martines, 24, of Plainfield, was found guilty by a jury in July 2023 of first-degree murder in the July 6, 2020 killing of Brenda Montoya-Cruz, who had reported just a week before her death that her boyfriend had threatened and attacked her.
Gonzalez Martines initially eluded police by jumping from a second story roof of an apartment building on Kensington Avenue in Plainfield when police arrived for a wellness check on Montoya-Cruz and found her dead, authorities said.
The wellness check was requested by Gonzalez Martines’ father who told police his son called him earlier in the day and said he had done “something bad,” according to court documents.
His father told police that “His son told him he got into a fight with his girlfriend and did something ‘grave,’” according to a criminal complaint filed at the time of Gonzalez Martines arrest.
Authorities said they found Gonzalez Martines’ wallet in the apartment where Montoya-Cruz’s body was discovered, and a neighbor reported seeing Gonzalez Martines.
One week before she was killed, Montoya-Cruz reported to the Plainfield police that Gonzalez Martines choked her and threatened to kill her, but she declined to file a restraining order against him, officials said. Instead, Gonzalez Martines was charged with aggravated assault, according to authorities.
Gonzalez Martines attorney, Wanda M. Akin said Friday that the prosecution requested a 50 year sentence while the defense asked for 30 years. She added that Gonzalez Martines was 19-years-old at the time of the incident and endured childhood trauma escaping from El Salvador as a 13-year-old.
Akin said Friday that Gonzalez Martines was evaluated by a psychological expert to present a mitigating factor to Judge Thomas Isenhour to reduce the sentence. She said that Gonzalez Martines may still appeal his sentence.
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Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X
