By: Tracie Carter
Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes announced that Francisco Martinez, 33, of Hasbrouck Heights, was sentenced to 15 years in state prison for the fatal stabbing of Johnny Jimenez in 2021.
Martinez received the sentence on August 27, 2025, from Judge Sohail Mohammed, P.J.Cr., under the terms of a plea deal.
He must serve 85% of the term before becoming eligible for parole. In May, Martinez pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and admitted in court that he stabbed Jimenez in the chest during a July 5, 2021, altercation outside his parents’ home on Totowa Avenue in Paterson.
The case also involved Martinez’s brother, Jose Martinez, who went to trial earlier this year.
In April 2025, a jury found Jose guilty of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and related weapons charges. 
He was sentenced to two concurrent 30-year terms in state prison.