GARNER, NC — With deep sadness, the passing of 37-year-old Victor Manuel Martinez-Rivera of Charlotte, North Carolina, has left a heartbreaking story following a shooting at a Super 8 Motel in Garner. A suspect has since been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.
According to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the motel at 101 Leone Court on October 11, 2026, at approximately 8:50 p.m. Upon arrival, they found Victor with gunshot wounds inside a second-floor room. Johnston County EMS later pronounced him deceased at the scene.
Detectives launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident and later identified Jose Francisco Banegas-Quintanilla, 28, also of Charlotte, as the suspect.
Investigators determined that Banegas-Quintanilla allegedly fled the scene in Victor’s vehicle following the incident. Detectives tracked his movements from Johnston County to Charlotte and later to Kinston, where the vehicle was found abandoned in a business parking lot.
Over the following two weeks, investigators conducted numerous interviews and reviewed extensive surveillance footage as they worked to advance the case.
On Friday, October 23, detectives determined that Banegas-Quintanilla was staying at a trailer on a hog farm in Pitt County. A search warrant was obtained, and with assistance from the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office and Greenville Police Department, he was located and taken into custody without incident.
He was returned to Johnston County that same night and is being held at the Johnston County Jail without bond.
Banegas-Quintanilla faces charges of murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell praised the detectives for their dedication throughout the investigation, noting that the case involved extensive detective work, multiple interviews, and travel across the state to follow leads.
The Sheriff’s Office also expressed appreciation to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Wake County Sheriff’s Office, Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office, Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, Kinston Police Department, Greenville Police Department, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol Air Wing Division for their assistance.
The case remains under investigation, and authorities have not released further information at this time.
As loved ones remember Victor Manuel Martinez-Rivera, his passing serves as a heartbreaking reminder of a life cut short. In Loving Memory of Victor, may his memory live on, and may those who loved him find comfort during this difficult time.
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