From 45 years to life: San Angelo Man Gets life for repeat domestic violence

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — A San Angelo man has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon to a household member, marking his second major conviction for domestic violence in just over a year.

Frank Alton Martinez, born Oct. 25, 1982, was convicted on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, by a jury in the 340th District Court. The trial was overseen by Judge Jay Weatherby, with prosecution led by 51st District Attorney Allison Palmer and Assistant District Attorney Jensen Martinez.

The jury heard evidence that on April 15, 2024, at approximately 2:12 a.m., a woman stumbled into the emergency room at Shannon Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. She had swollen, purple eyes, multiple deep lacerations to her head, arms, and hands, and extensive bruising. Her hair and clothing were wet, and she smelled strongly of gasoline.

Medical staff determined she had broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and spinal fractures. Life-saving measures were immediately initiated, and she was transferred to the intensive care unit, where she remained for several days.

An ICU nurse testified that it took approximately two hours for him and another medical professional to clean the gasoline, blood, and grass burrs from the woman’s hair. Due to the severity of her injuries, she was sedated and unable to identify herself. Police had to identify her through fingerprints.

Detectives Charles Barker and Thomas Gibson conducted the investigation. Surveillance footage captured the vehicle Martinez typically drove dropping the victim off near the emergency room entrance, then returning to his residence minutes later. During an interview, Martinez would neither confirm nor deny that he dropped her off, but admitted being with the victim from April 14 through the early hours of April 15.

Investigators found blood evidence throughout the vehicle and recovered a machete bearing Martinez’s DNA on the handle and the victim’s blood on the blade.

After hearing all the evidence, the jury returned a guilty verdict on Wednesday. At Thursday’s punishment hearing, Judge Weatherby considered additional evidence, including a previous violent assault on a local woman and Martinez’s criminal history of assaults.

Judge Weatherby sentenced Martinez to life imprisonment.

In a statement, the 51st District Attorney’s Office said, “We want to thank the jury in this case for holding a violent criminal in our community accountable for his actions. By their verdict, the jury has acted to protect our community and has sent a message that acts of senseless violence will not be tolerated.”

“We also appreciate and respect the sentence set by 340th District Judge Jay Weatherby. The sentence of life imprisonment protects our community from further acts of violence by this offender. With this sentence, Judge Weatherby has sent a message that the safety of our community is of paramount importance to the justice system in Tom Green County.”

“On behalf of our office, we are proud to seek justice for our community and for victims of violent crime in our community. We are committed to the protection of our community and will continue to work to hold criminals accountable for their actions.”

This was not Martinez’s first conviction for violence against a household member. In May 2024, a jury in Tom Green County found him guilty after he hit his girlfriend in the face multiple times. He was convicted of assault of a household member or a person he was dating at the time, with a prior conviction. Martinez had previously been convicted of family violence assault. The jury in that case sentenced him to 45 years in prison for the third-degree felony.