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Testimony began Monday in the trial of a man who prosecutors allege fatally shot 19-year-old Jon Paul Carabajal more than nine years ago in an "robbery turned murder" at a park in Northeast sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

Marco Martza, 29, faces charges including first-degree felony murder and armed robbery in a trial likely to hinge on the testimony of Martza's former girlfriend, who prosecutors say was present at the time of the killing.

Martza's attorney, John McCall, told jurors Monday to remain skeptical of testimony offered by the ex-girlfriend, Daisy Ortiz, who he said "made a deal" with prosecutors that allowed her to avoid first-degree murder charges in Carabajal's killing.

"The evidence is going to show that Ms. Ortiz had every motive in the world to throw her ex-boyfriend under the bus," McCall said in opening statements.

In six interviews with the police since 2017, Ortiz "gives a story that changes dramatically each time and minimizes her involvement," he said.

Ortiz pleaded no contest in April 2025 to tampering with evidence and possession of a controlled substance and faces up to 4 1/2 years in prison. Her sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.

Prosecutors dismissed four felony charges against Ortiz, including first-degree murder and armed robbery, court records show.

On April 30, 2017, police responded around 2:40 a.m. to a shooting outside Stardust Skies Park near Pennsylvania and Montgomery NE and found Carabajal lying in the street beside his car.

More than six years after the killing, Martza and Ortiz both were arrested in January 2024 and charged with murder and other crimes in Carabajal's death.

Investigators initially zeroed in on the couple in late 2017, but no more investigative steps were detailed in court records until November 2023 when the case was assigned to a different detective.

Prosecutor Gabriel Kallen told jurors that Carabajal was shot four times in the head, heart and lungs, and his pockets had been pulled inside out.

A Crown Victoria with a broken headlight was identified as the suspect vehicle from surveillance video, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. Detectives found Facebook messages from Ortiz asking Carabajal to meet her at the park, the complaint said.

"This case at its core is an armed robbery turned murder," Kallen said in opening statements. Ortiz will testify that Martza used her phone to set up a meeting with Carabajal and drove to the scene in Martza's Crown Victoria with Ortiz and two others, Kallen said.

Martza pulled up "window to window" beside Carabajal's vehicle and the two exchanged what was believed to be cocaine, Kallen said.

Others emerged from Carabajal鈥檚 car and a gunfight ensued between multiple people, leaving the street strewn with shell casings from several guns, Kallen said. Martza's DNA was found on a shell casing and a single live round found at the scene, Kallen said.

McCall responded that DNA from Ortiz and others also were found on shell casings.

"Even though Daisy (Ortiz) tells you she never handled a gun before, you are going to see that her DNA is on this 40-caliber cartridge," McCall said. "There's a lot of people tied up in this and there is only one witness, and then its going to be (Ortiz's) ex-boyfriend that she's trying to pin this on."

Olivier Uyttebrouck covers the court system. You can reach him at olivier@abqjournal.com.