Former Tampa Bay Rays prospect Brandon Martin was convicted Wednesday of three counts of first-degree murder for using a baseball bat to murder his father, uncle and a bystander in 2015.
In addition to the three murder counts, Martin was convicted of evading arrest, resisting arrest, stealing an automobile and injuring a police dog.
The jury is scheduled to hear testimony on Monday in the sentencing phase and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
The former first-round pick killed his father, 64-year-old Michael Martin; the elder Martin’s brother-in-law, 51-year-old Ricky Lee Anderson; and 62-year-old Barry Swanson.
Just two days before the incident, which occurred on Sept. 17, 2015, the younger Martin was admitted to a California Department of Mental Health’s emergency treatment facility for an evaluation. His admission came after he’d made threats against his disabled father.
The defendant was released from the facility on Sept. 17 and went straight to the elder man’s residence, arriving in the evening. At the time, the family was having a security system installed in the aftermath of Martin’s mental health evaluation. Swanson, an ADT company technician, was there as an installation consultation.
Brandon Martin went on to attack the three men with a baseball bat that had his name engraved on it. Michael Martin and Swanson died at the scene, while Anderson died days later of his injuries.
Following the incident, Brandon Martin stole Swanson’s Ford Raptor pickup and hid out overnight before he was eventually taken into custody.
Brandon Martin, 27, was selected with the 38th selection in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. According to Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times, Martin received an $860,000 signing bonus and was compared to Yankees legend Derek Jeter.
Martin played three season in the organization and was released in early 2015.
He had no documented prior felony convictions.
