The suspected gunman in a 2016 South Bay motel shooting has been sentenced to six years in prison while another man with him was released from jail Jan. 4 after receiving credit for time served.
Rodney Eric Martin, 31, received the 6-year term after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the slaying of Raymond Lipscomb, 27. Lipscomb was shot in the torso on April 12, 2016 at 1:20 a.m. at the E-Z 8 Motel at 1010 Outer Road in the Palm City area.
Maurice Leon Hayes, 23, also pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, and was given credit for already serving 914 days in jail. Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sontag placed Hayes on three years probation and fined him $8,874 on Jan. 4.
Both Martin and Hayes were ordered to share costs of $7,500 in funeral expenses. Hayes is more likely to make some payments since he was released from jail and he must abide by probation conditions until January 2022. A percentage of any earnings Martin makes in prison will be taken for restitution.
A jury in Martin’s trial deadlocked 6-6 on Dec. 29, 2017. Sontag declared a mistrial. Three original jurors became ill and had to be replaced with alternate jurors, and Martin’s attorney also became ill.
Deputy District Attorney Matthew Greco argued that Martin was the gunman and he was acquainted with the victim.
Murder charges were dismissed against both Martin and Hayes after they pleaded guilty to manslaughter. A third co-defendant who was charged with being an accessory after the fact had his case dismissed after he testified in court.
