By: Yuritza Arroyo
A Union County jury has returned a guilty verdict against a man for the strangulation death of his girlfriend in 2020, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel announced.
According to authorities, Bryan Gonzalez Martines, 23 of Plainfield, was found guilty on Tuesday of one count of first-degree murder following a month-long trial.
Authorities say the jury deliberated for less than a day before returning its verdict.
On the morning of Monday, July 6, 2020, Plainfield Police patrol units responded to a residence on the 700 block of Kensington Avenue – in order to conduct a requested welfare check -- and found the body of 19-year-old Brenda Montoya-Cruz, according to Assistant Prosecutors Alaina Caliendo and Shivani Trivedi, who prosecuted the case.
Sentencing for this case has been scheduled for September 29 at which time Martines can face a sentence of up to life in state prison.