Man sentenced for 2005 shooting death

Raul Damian Martinez, 24, was sentenced April 19, 2007, to 155 years to life plus 17 years by a Compton Superior Court judge, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

In March, a jury deliberated for about three hours before finding Martinez guilty of first-degree murder in the September 2005 shooting death of Osiel Hipolito.

Martinez was also convicted of two counts of attempted murder involving Hipolito's wife and brother, and one count of attempted murder of the baby. Hipolito's pregnant wife was hit in the stomach and her baby girl was born prematurely with a gunshot wound in one leg. The brother was shot in the arm.

Martinez opened fire on Hipolito, his 16-year-old brother and his wife as they were shopping Sept. 3, at a swap meet mall on South Atlantic Avenue near Compton Boulevard in East Compton.

Authorities said the incident began when Hipolito, a U.S. Navy sailor on leave from a tour of duty in Iraq, was attacked by suspected gang members. When he tried to defend himself, Martinez pulled out a gun and began shooting.

Martinez was arrested in Moreno Valley in Riverside County almost two weeks after killing Hipolito.

-- Maloy Moore