Alaska murder suspect sentenced to 65 years for immigration fraud, firearms charges

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Dominican national living illegally in Alaska received the maximum sentence of 65 years in prison Thursday for federal firearms violations, immigration benefit fraud and identity theft.

Javier Martinez, 48, was convicted in June of one count of unlawful reentry after deportation, five counts of making false claims of U.S. citizenship, five counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. A probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Anchorage Police Department following his arrest on state murder charges led to the federal charges and his subsequent jury conviction.

Martinez came to the attention of federal investigators after he allegedly shot and killed his former supervisor, Kerry Fadely, at the Millennium Alaskan Hotel in October 2011. The firearm was recovered at the scene along with a letter from Martinez explaining the reasons he was unhappy working at the hotel. The letter directed the hotel to send his final paycheck to the Anchorage jail.

Chief U.S District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline described the killing of Fadely as a cowardly act in imposing the maximum sentence available under the law. The judge also addressed Martinez's extensive criminal record, which includes drug dealing and repeated assaults against women, calling him a dangerous man who had no socially redeeming values.

Prosecutors say Martinez unlawfully returned to the U.S. after being deported in 1992. He then used a stolen identity of a U.S. citizen to acquire an Alaska identification card and obtain employment at several Anchorage-area hotels including the Millennium Alaskan. Evidence presented at trial showed Martinez falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen on application forms filed with the state of Alaska and with each of the hotels where he worked.

Martinez still faces first degree murder charges in state court in connection with the shooting.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Alaska District.