Claiming a man pointed a gun at him, Kevin Rodriguez testifies in court at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Thursday in Everett. Rodriguez was convicted of manslaughter for killing Evodio Garcia Martinez. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Claiming a man pointed a gun at him, Kevin Rodriguez testifies in court at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Thursday in Everett. Rodriguez was convicted of manslaughter for killing Evodio Garcia Martinez. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Jury convicts Monroe man of manslaughter in grisly stabbing

Kevin Rodriguez, 30, went on trial for murder in a 2019 knife attack. He stabbed three roommates.

EVERETT — Kevin Rodriguez stabbed three men with a butcher knife in 2019 because he feared for his safety, he told a jury Thursday in often rambling testimony.

One of them was found on a couch in a Monroe apartment, where he bled to death. His skin was riddled with more knife wounds than police could count. Rodriguez, 30, of Monroe, denied killing him.

“I know you’ve seen the pictures, but I didn’t do that. No way,” Rodriguez testified. “What I did was try to help myself get out of the house.”

On Friday, a jury found Rodriguez guilty of first-degree manslaughter and two counts of second-degree assault. He had been on trial for first-degree murder, but jurors acquitted him of that charge.

The jury heard closing arguments Thursday in Snohomish County Superior Court.

“On the night of February 9, going into February 10, Evodio Garcia Martinez woke up to a nightmare,” deputy prosecutor Tyler Scott told the courtroom. “He woke up to what would be his final nightmare, as the defendant plunged two knives through the blanket that lay over the top of him.”

Garcia Martinez, 56, often went to bed with a blanket covering his face to muffle the noise of his roommates at his residence on Terrace Street. That night, he’d fallen asleep on his couch near the apartment’s front door around 9 p.m.

Four of his roommates headed out for Tulalip Resort Casino shortly after. All seemed normal and quiet when they came back at 2 a.m., according to court documents.

One of the men opened his bedroom door and encountered Rodriguez — his face obscured by a bandana and baseball cap — swinging two butcher knives. The defendant slashed the man across the face, court papers say. A second roommate suffered knife wounds to the shoulder and elbow.

Two roommates ran just outside of the apartment, and Rodriguez reportedly locked them out, leaving himself inside with the two others. They fought back with a vacuum cleaner and wooden board and eventually restrained him.

During the scuffle, the group kept knocking against the couch where the roommate had slept. Garcia Martinez remained still. The blanket slid off him to reveal he’d suffered stab wounds to the face, neck and chest. Knife slits checkered the couch cushions and blankets. Police reportedly arrived to the apartment to find Rodriguez was disarmed. The men had tied him up with copper wire. One roommate pointed at the defendant and said, “He killed my friend. He killed him.”

Two officers struggled to gain control of Rodriguez before they detained him. The defendant was talkative en route to a hospital, but his words were mostly incoherent except for one statement, according to police.

“I hurt him, I hurt him,” Rodriguez reportedly told police.

In the hospital, the defendant repeatedly called out the name of a man who wasn’t there.

Police reportedly found foil and a lighter in the defendant’s pocket.

The jury heard Rodriguez’s side of the story when he took the witness stand this week in his own trial. He told the court he knew the residents of the Terrace Street apartment because he’d lived there in the past. He’d been let in that night, he said, because he planned to move back in.

After the roommates left, Garcia Martinez stood up and pointed a gun at him, he testified. Rodriguez claimed he stabbed him in self-defense. His memory of the events that followed was fuzzy, he said on the witness said. A gun was never found at the crime scene, or at any point during police investigation.

Detectives found two knives at the crime scene and sent them to a lab for DNA testing. Tests found Garcia Martinez’s blood on a blade and Rodriguez’s DNA on a handle.

On the witness stand, Rodriguez said he’d used methamphetamine the night of the attack. He said he had a history of drug and alcohol abuse.

Forensic psychiatrist Mark Koenen performed two psychiatric evaluations on the defendant after the attack.

As the final witness, he told the court that methamphetamine has the potential to induce psychotic symptoms in users, such as hallucinations.

He said he believed the defendant’s paranoid, disorganized behavior that night indicated he may have experienced methamphetamine-induced psychosis.

Defense attorney David Roberson urged the jury to reach a verdict of manslaughter in the first degree, based on the defendant’s mental state.

“Evidence of mental illness or disorder may be taken into consideration in determining whether the defendant had the capacity to form premeditation,” Roberson told the courtroom. “We know there’s no premeditation. We know there’s no intent from the uncontested testimony of Dr. Koenen. Someone going through a psychosis cannot do either.”

Prosecutors argued “no act is any less criminal” after somebody chooses to do drugs.

“Kevin uses drugs, he uses alcohol, but he’s not crazy,” Scott said. “He’s not schizophrenic, he’s not bipolar. He has symptoms, according to Dr. Koenen, of psychosis from his drug use. That does not excuse him from getting a knife in his hand, after voluntarily taking drugs, and stabbing somebody to death.”

Rodriguez has a felony record of possessing drugs and stolen vehicles, as well as misdemeanors for domestic violence.

His most recent conviction was for felony malicious mischief, for throwing a rock through the window of a bistro on Lewis Street. Court papers say he’d accused the business owner of not paying him for work from years earlier. The owner looked into it, but found no record that he ever worked there.

A sentencing hearing for assault and manslaughter is set for July 22.

Ellen Dennis: 425-339-3486; edennis@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterellen

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

A view of a homes in Edmonds, Washington on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County to mail property tax statements this month

First half payments are due on April 30.

Ticket and ORCA card kiosks at the Lynnwood Light Rail station on Thursday, April 4, 2024 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Beginning March 1, Community Transit to reduce some fares

Riders eligible for reduced fares will pay $1 for a single ORCA card tap and $36 for a monthly pass.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

The amphitheater at Deception Pass during the 2021 concert series. (Photo provided by Deception Pass Park Foundation Facebook page.)
Deception Pass Foundation seeks Adopt-A-Trail volunteers

If you’re looking for a way to get outside and… Continue reading

A pedestrian is struck and killed by vehicle Wednesday in Everett

The pedestrian was a man in his 60s. The collision happened at 5:30 a.m. on Broadway.

Want coffee? Drink some with the Marysville mayor.

A casual question-and-answer session between mayor and constituents is planned for March 24.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.