Man gets 67 years to life for murder

Tyquan Benson was part of gang-related shooting in 2020 that took the life of Alejandra Martinez

A 28-year-old man was sentenced Wednesday to more than 67 years to life in prison for committing a gang-related shooting along with another man that killed an innocent bystander near a taco truck in Long Beach in 2020.

Tyquan Benson of Long Beach was convicted by a Long Beach Superior Court jury in July of first-degree murder in the slaying of Alejandra Martinez, 36, as well as attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic firearm, felon in possession of a firearm and shooting from a motor vehicle.

Benson's co-defendant, Jacquise Wright, will face trial on the same charges at a later date. Wright was initially on trial with Benson, but his case was declared a mistrial after his public defender had an emergency and could not continue.

Benson's attorney, Theida Salazar, asked the court to consider the fact that Benson had lost his father to violence when he was a 1-year-old and that Benson had undergone mental health services from age 6 to 17. In a 2022 evaluation, Benson was found to have a language disorder, ADHD and other issues, Salazar said.

“I don't think Mr. Benson was given a deck of cards he could win with,” Salazar said.

But prosecutor Robert Song argued Benson and Wright hatched a plan to shoot other gang members that ended up taking the life of an innocent person, noting the two returned to the taco truck twice and that “no one told him to grab a gun and go back. He chose to.

“What we have, ultimately, are acts (of which) he took an extensive role in planning and executing,” Song said. “The callousness and egregiousness calls for a significant sentence.”

Martinez and a cousin had gone to the taco truck, sitting on the northeast corner of Anaheim Street and Magnolia Avenue, to get food after she got off work at 11 p.m. Dec. 4, 2020, prosecutor Robert Song said during trial.

Benson and Wright also went to the truck and ordered food, but saw men they perceived to be gang rivals, then left in one car to get drinks at a nearby li