Jose Lara-Chacon, 26, of Wheaton, was found guilty Wednesday in the first-degree murder of 21-year-old Dimer Diaz Martinez,
He faces a potential life sentence as a result of the Jan. 22, 2021 beating and stabbing death. He will be sentenced Jan. 27, 2023.
According to court documents, the two men were in an apartment at 12031 Viers Mill Road in Wheaton when Lara-Chacon called 911 to say that he and Martinez were drinking alcohol and that he had injured Martinez.
Dimer Diaz Martinez
Lara-Chacon told police detectives that Martinez had a knife. Lara-Chacon also said he hit Martinez with a baseball bat to the head two times and “finished off” Martinez by stabbing him in the neck, according to court documents, which noted that Martinez was nearly decapitated.
Following the jury’s verdict, State’s Attorney for Montgomery County John McCarthy said, “Our thoughts are with the family of Dimer Diaz Martinez today. This sort of sudden, vicious violence has no place in our community and the defendant will now be held accountable. We thank the men and women of the jury for rejecting the defendant’s claim of self-defense and helping to ensure Jose Lara-Chacon will not be able to harm another person in this way.”
