GENTRY, Arkansas — An Oklahoma man will spend 30 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections for killing his coworker at the La Huerta Mexican Restaurant in Gentry in November 2021.
Martin Tavarez-Torres pleaded guilty to an amended charge of first-degree murder on March 18, 2024.
According to Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Robinson, Tavarez-Torres had originally been charged with capital murder in the death of 45-year-old Fidel Mercado Reyes, but agreed to the lesser charge.
Although Tavarez-Torres admitted to killing Reyes at the Gentry restaurant, Robinson said he has not given a reason for the killing.
According to the Gentry Police Department (GPD), Tavarez-Torres shot Reyes "on the back of the head" inside La Huerta on Fowler Street at around 11 a.m. on Nov. 10, 2021, killing him.
Court documents revealed that other employees of the restaurant told officials Tavarez-Torres was the nephew of the restaurant owner and had just started working there the day before the shooting.
Family members of Reyes told police that they believed the incident had happened over a "$20,000 or $200,000" slot machine ticket that Reyes had won the night before, the release said. Police believe the two were together when Reyes won the ticket. Court documents stated that Torres allegedly helped Reyes "obtain a passport in Houston" after winning the ticket and planned to take him to the casino to cash out before the shooting took place.
GPD said Torres fled the scene of the shooting but was later arrested at family member's home in Fayetteville.
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