After evading authorities for two months, a Florida man suspected in the separate murders of a missing woman and a man at a homeless camp has been captured, according to authorities. The suspect, 26-year-old Enrique Martinez, was found wandering on a sidewalk near Cooley Road and SR 540 in Winter Haven, announced Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd at a news conference. Sheriff Judd commended the efforts of the deputies and detectives involved in the capture, stating, “He was pretty good at avoiding us for a period of time, but our deputies and detectives, who are the very best, never gave up.”
The search for Martinez began after the murder of a man identified as Edil Rodriguez at a homeless camp on November 8, 2023. The investigation intensified when Martinez became a suspect in the killing of 20-year-old Sierra Hernandez, who was reported missing on January 14 but believed to have disappeared days earlier. On Monday, Sheriff Judd announced that Hernandez’s body had been recovered.
The arrest took place when detectives spotted Martinez “casually walking” on a sidewalk just north of Eagle Lake. Upon being spotted, Martinez fled into a wooded area in an attempt to escape. Deputies and officers from the Winter Haven Police Department set up a perimeter and conducted a search with a K-9 unit. Eventually, Martinez walked out of the wooded area and surrendered peacefully.
Sheriff Judd recounted the moment when he looked at Martinez, who was sitting in the back of a police car, and the suspect greeted him with a casual “Hey, sheriff. How you doing?”. The sheriff remarked on the ease of Martinez’s decision to surrender, stating, “Well, that’s a pretty easy choice when you’re surrounded by 100 deputy sheriffs with guns.” Martinez, with a violent criminal history that includes 13 felony arrests and 15 misdemeanor arrests, had previously served five years in prison for stabbing an ex-girlfriend in the face.
The investigation into Sierra Hernandez’s death is still ongoing, and Sheriff Judd mentioned the possibility of other suspects. As more details emerge, authorities will continue their efforts to bring justice to the victims and their families.
