Anissia Martinez, a 27-year-old Hispanic woman, was fatally wounded in a shooting in southeast Fresno, California, during the afternoon of July 1, 2023. At about 1:22 p.m., Fresno police officers were sent to the 4900 block of East Balch Avenue after receiving a report of a person who had been shot. Officers found Martinez suffering from a single gunshot wound, with one local report specifying that she had been shot in the head.
She was discovered near the area of Balch and Winery avenues and was quickly transported to Community Medical Center for emergency treatment. Although she initially survived the shooting and was reported to be in critical but stable condition, her injuries ultimately proved fatal.
Investigators soon focused on Martinez’s boyfriend, 22-year-old Rosalino Mendoza-Hernandez. Police said Martinez and Mendoza-Hernandez had been in a relationship since the beginning of 2023 and determined during their preliminary investigation that he had shot her. Officers encountered Mendoza-Hernandez as he was attempting to flee from the scene and took him into custody. Detectives searched the area and recovered a handgun that they believed had been used in the shooting.
At the time of his arrest, Mendoza-Hernandez was reportedly a gang member and was on felony probation related to being an ex-felon in possession of a handgun. Because Martinez was still alive immediately after the shooting, police initially arrested him on suspicion of attempted murder along with multiple weapons violations. He was booked into the Fresno County Jail while Martinez remained hospitalized.
Martinez remained under medical care for several days after the July 1 shooting. Fresno police later reported that she was pronounced dead by medical personnel at approximately 5:04 p.m. on July 5, 2023. Her death changed the criminal investigation from an attempted homicide case to a murder case. Authorities announced that the attempted murder allegation against Mendoza-Hernandez would be upgraded to murder, in addition to the weapons-related allegations already associated with his arrest.
Police continued investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting even after Mendoza-Hernandez was taken into custody, and homicide detectives appealed to the public for additional information. Available reporting identifies Mendoza-Hernandez as the only publicly named suspect and confirms his arrest in connection with Martinez’s shooting and subsequent death. The online sources reviewed report the arrest and anticipated or upgraded murder charge, but they do not provide a reliable later account establishing whether the case proceeded to trial, resulted in a plea, produced a conviction, or led to a final sentence.
