The third person who was charged in the killing scheme of a Palmerton man on Dec. 7, 2024, in Whitehall Township pleaded guilty to third degree murder charges Monday in Lehigh County Court and was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.

Christian Martinez-Ramos, 36, of Allentown, was sentenced by Judge Robert L. Steinberg after pleading to charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Earlier this year, Martinez-Ramos’ accomplices, Liz Marie Pacheco and Brenda Rodriguez, pleaded to their roles in the killing of Rodriguez’s husband, Hector Garcia Gomez, in the parking lot of Loco Hot Deals, 1155 MacArthur Road in the township.

In the earlier pleas, Pacheco pleaded guilty earlier to murder in the third degree and was sentenced to serve 5 to 10 years in state prison. Rodriguez pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy — aggravated assault, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 5.

The investigation of the case showed around 6 p.m. in the date of the killing, officers found Garcia Gomez with multiple gunshot wounds to his abdomen. He was later pronounced dead, with Lehigh County Coroner Daniel Buglio ruling the death a homicide.

Police said video surveillance showed Garcia Gomez’s vehicle arrive in the parking lot and while he was inside the store, Rodriguez stayed inside the car and appeared to be on her phone.

The investigation revealed Rodriguez was providing information via cellphone detailing her husband’s location to Pacheco, who then relayed the location to Martinez-Ramos, who arrived minutes later to the parking lot.

The investigation showed as Garcia Gomez left the store and began to get inside his car, Martinez-Ramos drove his vehicle through the parking lot and parked behind Garcia Gomez. Gunshots were fired at Garcia Gomez by Martinez-Ramos from his vehicle, striking Garcia Gomez multiple times.

After Garcia Gomez was shot, video surveillance showed Rodriguez remained inside the car for more than 22 seconds. Rodriguez eventually got out of the car, adjusted her clothing and hair and picked up several items before slowly walking into the store.