Tennessee Man Wanted For Questioning In Shooting Death Over $40, Deputies Say
Charlie Richard “Rico” Martinez’s girlfriend and mother have already been arrested in connection to the incident.
Charlie Richard “Rico” Martinez [via Knox County Sheriff's Office Facebook page]
Authorities are searching for a person of interest who they say may have been involved in the shooting death of a Tennessee man.
On February 17, police located the body of missing 33-year-old Rockwood resident Victor Daniel “Danny” Letner on a remote road in East Knox County.
Kendra Ivey, 23, told Knox County Sheriff investigators that she had met Letner in Knoxville on Feb. 7 — one day after his birthday — and the two had a disagreement over money, according to WBIR-TV.
Ivey claimed she then had Letner drive her to the remote road, where her boyfriend, Charlie Richard “Rico” Martinez, 23, allegedly was waiting to rob him.
Ivey reportedly told investigators that Martinez "shot the victim and they fled the scene” and “split the $40 between each other.”
According to warrant records, Diana Jeanty, Martinez’s 46-year-old mother, helped dress a gunshot wound to her son’s leg following the incident.
Records state Jeanty also “drove the victim's vehicle to Virginia and dumped the vehicle in a parking lot” and told authorities “that while she was en route back to Knoxville she found out that her son had killed Victor Daniel Letner.”
Jeanty faces charges of tampering with evidence and accessory after the fact. She is being held in lieu of $20,000 bond and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 5.
Deputies also arrested Martinez’s girlfriend, Ivey, and she faces a felony murder charge. She is being held in lieu of $1 million bond and next expected in court on March 3.
Authorities are still searching for Martinez, who has not been charged in the case but is wanted for questioning and currently has a violation of probation warrant, WATE-TV reported.
Anyone with information about Charlie Richard “Rico” Martinez’s whereabouts is encouraged to call the Knox County Sheriff’s Office at 865-215-2243 and ask for Detective Ballard.
Letner’s obituary notes the former nursing home care worker was “a big hearted, caring man who helped anyone in need.”
Victor Daniel “Danny” Letner's body was found on February 17, 2021 [credit: Amanda Askew]
