Connecticut Man Sentenced to 90 Years in Stray Bullet Murder Case
A Connecticut man has been sentenced to 90 years in prison for his involvement in the tragic murder of Mabel Martínez Antongiorgi, the mother of a Puerto Rican Olympic rifle shooter. Franklin Robinson, 40, was one of three individuals charged in connection with the incident. The shooting occurred on April 9, 2022, while Martínez Antongiorgi was sewing at her home in Waterbury, located approximately 30 miles southwest of Hartford.
Judge Brian Preleski delivered the sentence during the hearing, holding Robinson accountable for his role in the crime. The victim’s daughter, Yarimar Mercado Martínez, had competed as part of the Puerto Rican national team in both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, which were delayed due to the pandemic. At the time of the murder, Mercado Martínez was away in Brazil for a separate competition.
Robinson was found guilty of murder and other charges following a jury trial in July. The remaining two co-defendants are currently awaiting their own trials. However, Robinson’s public defender, Donald Meehan, denounced the severity of the sentence, labeling it as a “severe trial tax” imposed on his client for rejecting a plea offer that would have resulted in a 40-year prison term.
Meehan defended Robinson’s decision, stating, “As with all defendants, including innocent ones, the offer was an effort to entice him to plead guilty and waive his rights to a fair trial and to face witnesses against him and, as always, comes with the built-in threat of potentially receiving a sentence like the one Robinson received today if convicted after a trial.”
Testimony during the trial revealed that Robinson, driven by jealousy, pursued a man who had greeted his girlfriend on another occasion. After confronting and arguing with the man and some of his acquaintances, Robinson enlisted the help of two others to pursue the intended victim. They fired at a parked car on Martinez Antongiorgi Street, mistakenly believing the man was inside. Sadly, Martínez Antongiorgi was struck by a stray bullet, resulting in her death. Another bystander was also injured but managed to survive.
Although Robinson did not fire the fatal shot, he was charged with murder under Connecticut law due to his alleged role as the ringleader of a conspiracy to kill the intended victim and recruit assistance. At the time of her mother’s death, Mercado Martínez expressed her grief on social media, lamenting that she “couldn’t even say goodbye” and questioning why such tragedy had befallen her mother, who was innocently sitting at home pursuing her usual hobby of sewing.
Martínez Antongiorgi and her husband, John Luis Mercado, had relocated to Waterbury from Puerto Rico a few years after the devastating Hurricane Maria in 2017. Tragically, they were planning to renew their marriage vows before her untimely passing.
This case serves as a poignant reminder of the devastating consequences that can result from senseless acts of violence and highlights the need for justice to be served to those responsible for such heinous crimes.