A killer who gunned down Alexander Mazin outside a Point Loma fitness center was sentenced July 15 to 45 years to life in state prison.
Before Ernesto Castellanos Martinez heard Mazin’s family make victim impact statements, he attempted to get out of hearing them all together.
Martinez, now 46, attempted to withdraw his guilty plea to first-degree murder on June 24 by claiming he should have had a Spanish-speaking interpreter even though he never asked for one and his long-time attorney didn’t think it was needed.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Eugenia Eyherabide denied his motion then. Still, on July 15, Martinez asked her if he could waive having the interpreter and not wear earphones for the translation.
“I don’t want to hear this,” said Martinez, referring to the testimony from the victim’s family and others in the audience.
Eyherabide told Martinez he could not waive the interpreter and must wear the earphones because he had appealed on that issue. It was not an option, said the judge, because he needs to understand the sentence in Spanish.
Mazin, 27, of Pacific Beach, was dating a woman who previously dated Martinez. He waited outside the 24 Hour Fitness at 3675 Midway Drive on Feb. 25, 2018, and shot Mazin three times at 10:50 a.m. in the parking lot.
Mazin operated a tattoo removal service business in Pacific Beach on Grand Avenue. His father, retired surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Mazin, said his son had clients who wanted tattoos removed which prevented them from getting employment. He also removed gang tattoos or any tattoos that people no longer wanted.
“The value of his life was priceless,” said Jeffrey Mazin.
The retired physician said he left his profession after hearing testimony in the preliminary hearing about his son’s gunshot wounds.
“This man is the devil incarnate,” said Jeffrey Mazin, referring to Martinez.
“My family is left shattered. What justice is possibly sufficient?” asked the victim’s older brother, Jason Mazin.
“What great thing would Anthony have accomplished had he not been taken?” his brother asked.
Penelope Mazin said her son had dated Martinez’s ex-girlfriend only a few months before he was killed. She said they had never met her.
“You never know when that last moment will happen,” said Penelope Mazin.
She recalled kissing him before he left for the gym and was “grateful for that last time to say goodbye.”
Eyherabide imposed 25 years to life for murder plus 20 years for using a gun in a homicide for a total of 45 years to life in prison.
The judge ordered Martinez to pay $14,958 in restitution to the crime victim’s fund to pay for the funeral expenses. She fined him $10,224.
He was given 1,026 days credit in jail since his arrest. Martinez was living in North Park at the time and fled to Mexico. He was extradited here in 2020.
