By: Richard L. Smith
A Plainfield man has been sentenced to 40 years in state prison for the strangulation death of his girlfriend in 2020, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel and Plainfield Police Director James T. Abney announced today.
Official said Bryan Gonzalez Martines, 24, was found guilty of first-degree murder on July 11, 2023, before Union County Superior Court Judge Thomas Isenhour.
On Wednesday, May 15, 2024, Judge Isenhour sentenced Martines to 40 years in state prison, with a requirement to serve 85% of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
The incident occurred on the morning of July 6, 2020, when Plainfield Police responded to a residence in the 700 block of Kensington Avenue for a welfare check and discovered the body of 19-year-old Brenda Montoya-Cruz. Assistant Prosecutors Alaina Caliendo and Shivani Trivedi, who prosecuted the case, detailed the events that led to Martines' conviction.
Union County Prosecutor Daniel expressed gratitude for the efforts of Assistant Prosecutors Caliendo and Trivedi, as well as Homicide Task Force Detectives Nora Berrios and Ryan Kirsch. "I hope this sentencing can bring some relief to those mourning Ms. Montoya-Cruz," he said.