Man sentenced to prison for triple shooting after dominoes game

A Las Vegas man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday for a 2017 triple shooting that left two men dead following a dominoes game.

Frederick Martin Jr., 62, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and battery with a deadly weapon, court records show. In June 2017, Martin got angry during a game of dominoes at a home near Craig and Walnut roads then opened fire on the four other men inside the home’s garage, Las Vegas police have said.

He shot 37-year-old Demond Billingsley in the back and then shot and killed 20-year-old Calvin Clark. Martin then shot Adreon Williams in the head, but Williams survived his injuries.

A fourth man survived the shooting because Martin’s gun was out of bullets when he tried to shoot him in the head, Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani said during Martin’s sentencing hearing Wednesday.

“Those facts alone warrant a sentence of life without parole,” Giordani said. “For a young man, for an old man, whoever it may be — you execute two men, you serve the rest of your life in prison.”

Prosecutors had been pursuing the death penalty for Martin, but he pleaded guilty to avoid capital punishment, Giordani said.

Martin’s public defenders, Robert Arroyo and Scott Bindrup, brought in two medical experts to testify on Wednesday about Martin’s health. The doctors testified that his brain showed signs of significant scarring that could affect his cognitive function and that he suffers from a variety of health issues that could lead to his death in less than five years.

‘Court needs to send message’

Giordani also argued that Martin has an extensive criminal history in California and Las Vegas dating to the late 1970s, including convictions for DUI, grand theft auto and a shooting. He argued that even if Martin were to succumb to his health problems in a few years, he should not be shown leniency.

“I think this court needs to send a message to him that we’re done; you cannot be in society with the rest of us,” Giordani said.

Martin did not give a statement during the hearing. Arroyo argued that the shooting was the result of an argument, not only because of the dominoes game. He said Martin had a “long history” of traumatic experiences and mental health issues, including schizophrenia.

“This wasn’t just, ‘I was mad over a dominoes game,’ ” Arroyo said. “This is all connected.”

Leavitt sentenced Martin to two terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole and ordered him to pay $11,360 dollars in restitution.

‘Red flags everywhere’

The courtroom was packed on Wednesday with Martin’s family members on one side and the victims’ families on the other.

Williams, who prosecutors said still has a scar from being shot in the head, told the judge that the shooting was a “cowardly act.”

“It was all over a game of dominoes that all of us could have walked away from,” he said.

Calvin Clark’s mother, Lakisha Clark, said her son was a funny and athletic man who had gifted his sister a puppy days before he died. She said the past five and a half years have felt unreal.

“He didn’t deserve what came to him that day,” she said. “None of the victims did.”

Pamela Johnson, Billingsley’s sister, said his death left a hole in her family. She described her brother as a caring father of four children and said he loved to cook and sing.

Billingsley’s family all wore shirts reading “Justice” to the hearing. Johnson said that for her, justice would have been preventing Martin from committing the shooting.

“It shouldn’t have to have taken something this heinous to stop him,” Johnson said after the hearing. “There were red flags everywhere.”

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.