Heriberto Martinez-Martinez, a 37-year-old Hispanic man from Mexico, was in his bedroom in a mobile home on Stall Road in North Charleston, South Carolina, on the night of April 25, 2024. Known affectionately by the nickname 'Bocho,' he was an innocent man who became the unintended victim of violence that erupted nearby.
Just before 10 p.m., an armed robbery occurred at a neighboring residence. During the incident, suspects fired a gun and then fled on foot.
North Charleston Police officers, responding to reports of gunshots, were checking the area for property damage when they discovered a bullet hole in the wall of Mr. Martinez-Martinez’s home. They went inside to check on the residents and found him in his bed, unresponsive with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. An investigation later determined that a stray bullet had struck him in the face while he was asleep.
The North Charleston Police Department launched an investigation, finding four 9 mm shell casings at the scene. The inquiry quickly led to the identification of several suspects. On April 29, police arrested two men, 22-year-old Kobe Javon Bryant and 19-year-old Triston Robertson, in connection with the homicide.
The search for others involved continued. On May 8, a third suspect, 20-year-old Kristian Jaheem Bryant, was taken into custody after an hourslong standoff with police and U.S. Marshals at a home on Holden Street. On June 20, U.S. Marshals located and arrested an 18-year-old, Jameson Zahhaeus Bryant, in Greenville, which authorities described as the fourth and final expected arrest in the case.
Kobe Bryant, Triston Robertson, and Kristian Bryant have all been charged with murder and armed robbery. Jameson Bryant has been charged in connection with the fatal shooting. As of the final arrest in June 2024, the cases against the four men were pending in the Charleston County court system. The killing left the local Hispanic community shaken, mourning the loss of a man who died senselessly in the safety of his own home.
