Richmond man pleads no contest to being accessory to Penngrove murder

SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- A Richmond man pleaded no contest in Sonoma County Superior County Monday morning to being an accessory after the fact to burglary, robbery, false imprisonment and the murder of a Penngrove woman last month.

John Bruno Martinez, 27, of Richmond, faces a maximum prison term of three years and eight months when he is sentenced April 13, Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Staebell said.

"This defendant provided assistance to two extremely dangerous individuals. The evidence showed that he was aware of what they were involved in and why they were fleeing the area," Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said.

Martinez rented a vehicle in Richmond for Stephanie Hill, 37, and Victor Silva, 27, both of Novato, Ravitch said.

Silva and Hill are suspected of killing 84-year-old Olga Mary Dinelli in her Rose Avenue home in Penngrove on Feb. 26. She was found dead in a chair from a gunshot and her 1995 Lexus was missing from her property.

Ravitch said Hill and Silva used the rental car to flee Sonoma County after the homicide.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department located Hill and Silva in the vehicle on eastbound Interstate Highway 10 on Feb. 28. They were allegedly shooting at passing motorists and shot at a Quartzsite police officer when they entered La Paz County in Arizona, La Paz County sheriff's Lt. Curt Bagby said.

Silva surrendered after the car went off the road into the desert, but Hill allegedly brandished a weapon and was shot and killed by a Riverside County sheriff's deputy, Bagby said.

Silva was indicted by a La Paz County grand jury for unlawful flight from police and with Hill's murder because she was killed while she and Hill were committing a crime. He remains in custody in La Paz County.

Staebell said it's unknown when Silva will be brought to Sonoma County to face prosecution for Dinelli's murder. He said Silva also is under investigation by authorities in Contra Costa and Marin counties on weapons charges.