A jury has convicted Zella Latice Holmes, 41, of Atwater, for the fatal Sept. 25 Ceres shooting of boyfriend Franklin Martin, 38, also of Atwater at the Howard Johnson Inn.

The jury found Holmes guilty of first-degree murder with personal use of a firearm, child endangerment and evading law enforcement. She faces a potential sentence of 51 years to life in prison when she is returns to court on Nov. 2.

Deputy District Attorney Harshan Samra prosecuted the case.

Holmes told Ceres Police detectives she had been in a dating relationship with Martin for approximately 18 years and said she shot him in the head because she became angry with him. She also accused Martin of domestic violence abuse.

Martin’s body was found by the housekeeping staff at the motel.

CPD detectives learned that Martin had been staying in the room with Holmes along with their young child. The gun used to kill Martin was left inside the room along with personal items belonging to Holmes.

Holmes fled the hotel immediately after the shooting with her child.

While detectives were investigating the murder, Holmes had flagged down fire personnel in the area of Mitchell and Finch roads to report she had been the victim of domestic abuse and believed it had occurred at a Ceres motel. When Ceres Police officers arrived and asked if she had anything to do with the motel shooting, she fled in a vehicle and a pursuit ensued. Officers terminated the pursuit because Holmes was driving recklessly and they were concerned about the safety of her unrestrained child. Moments later Holmes drove back into Ceres and ran the car into a curb on Mitchell Road near Hatch Road. She was able to steer the damaged car into the Food-4-Less parking lot where she was arrested.

The vehicle Holmes was driving was registered in the Martin’s name and also contained items belonging to him.

Her child was placed into the custody of Child Protective Services.