Nearly four years after Cypress Garcia was shot to death at Blake’s Lotaburger during an alleged armed robbery attempt, Ricky Martinez has been charged in state court for his death.

Prosecutors filed a criminal complaint on Feb. 4, charging Martinez, 34, of Española, with second degree murder, aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, following the Aug. 9, 2022 killing.

The charges against Martinez come as no surprise after he pleaded guilty in a federal case for a string of armed robberies, including the one that left Garcia, 22, dead. In that federal plea deal signed on Oct. 8, Martinez agreed to plead guilty to a murder charge in state court for Garcia’s killing.

The federal case is currently set for sentencing on April 8 at the federal courthouse in Albuquerque. He faces a maximum of life in prison in his federal case, where he pleaded guilty to three counts of interference with commerce by robbery and one count each of carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, interference with commerce by attempted robbery and felon in possession of a firearm. Martinez has been held without bail since he was arrested shortly after the killing.

According to state court documents, Martinez is being held in the Cibola County Correctional Facility.

A first appearance is set for 11:30 a.m. Feb. 19, where it appears Martinez will be able to virtually attend the hearing.

He faces a maximum sentence of at least 20 years on the three charges, but could face a longer sentence depending on enhancements, like using a gun during the killing.

Co-Defendants

Two other people have been charged in the Lotaburger robbery, but neither for Garcia’s death — Adelene Urquijo and Ashley Thompson.

Urquijo pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact with a sentence of five years, per her plea deal, signed Aug. 7, 2024, where she admitted to driving a stolen van around Española with Martinez as her passenger until they went to Blake’s Lotaburger, where he got out and shot Garcia.

She later took him to her trailer and called Thompson to pick him up and helped her get him away from her trailer, in the trunk of Thompson’s car.

In Thompson’s plea deal, signed April 8, 2024, she admitted to coordinating with Urquijo to pick up Martinez. Her plea deal did not set a specific sentence. Unlike Urquijo, who was held without bail, Thompson was released and repeatedly sought to have her sentencing pushed out so she could “demonstrate her progress and sobriety prior to sentencing.” She faces a maximum sentence of 10 years.

According to online federal court records, she was supposed to be sentenced on Nov. 3, 2025, but no record of that happening appears in the court record. No records or entries for her case exist after a text order pushing out her sentencing to Nov. 3.