Reginald Jackson and Roderick Martin received prison terms after pleading guilty to lesser murder charges.

MIAMI, Fla. — Two men accused in the 2013 killings of a Miami Gardens minister and her grandson accepted plea deals after an earlier courtroom outburst delayed what had appeared to be the end of a long-running double murder case.

Reginald Jackson, 40, and Roderick Martin, 39, stood before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ellen Sue Venzer and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges tied to the deaths of Annette Anderson and Tyrone Walker Jr. The deal spared both men from trial and closed a case that had stretched across nearly 13 years. Jackson received a 40-year prison sentence. Martin received a 25-year sentence. Both had originally faced more serious charges, including first-degree murder.

The plea came after an earlier hearing broke down when Jackson entered court expecting to resolve the case but did not see his mother or other relatives in the gallery. Jackson, who was handcuffed to Martin, became upset and refused to continue. “I want my mom,” Jackson yelled in court. He said he had once seen his grandmother at a hearing and that she died months later, making that court appearance the last time he saw her. He said he did not want the same thing to happen with his mother. The judge had agreed to take up the case even though it was not on the regular calendar because attorneys had said both defendants were ready to plead guilty.

The disruption changed the hearing from a planned plea into a courtroom standoff. Jackson stood, shouted at the judge and started walking out while still restrained to Martin. Martin had to move with him because the two men were connected. Jackson refused to return, even after the court was told his sister had arrived. Martin later returned to the courtroom without Jackson, but prosecutors would not move forward with Martin’s offer by itself because they had expected cooperation from him in any trial against Jackson. The collapse left both men still facing trial and life in prison if convicted.

Days later, the case returned to court with a different tone. Jackson answered questions from Venzer and agreed to plead guilty to two counts of second-degree murder with a firearm and two robbery counts. Martin also answered yes when Venzer asked if he was pleading guilty because he was guilty. The judge sentenced Jackson to 40 years, including a mandatory minimum term, and sentenced Martin to 25 years. Jackson had already spent nearly 13 years in custody. Martin had been held for a much shorter period. The combined sentence was 65 years in state prison.

The killings date to July 16, 2013, when Anderson, a minister, and Walker, her 20-year-old grandson, were found dead inside a home on Northwest 207th Street in Miami Gardens. Investigators said both victims had been tied up and shot in the back of the head. Court accounts said Anderson had been cooking before the attack, and food was still in the oven when the bodies were found days later. Police believed items were stolen from the home, including Anderson’s cellphone, debit card and television, along with Walker’s Xbox game console and debit card. The motive was described in later court coverage as robbery, though some questions about why the victims were killed remained unanswered in court.

Anderson was known in Miami Gardens for her church work and community involvement. She had been ordained at Jesus People Ministries and also helped lead prayer and community action work. Friends said she hosted Bible study at her home and cared about crime in the neighborhood. Walker, known to relatives as TJ, had moved from Jacksonville to live with his grandmother a few months before he was killed. He was studying at ITT Technical Institute and worked at Burger King. At the 2013 funeral, relatives and city leaders described both victims as gentle, faith-centered people whose deaths shook the community.

The long delay became part of the final court record. State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said the case had been slowed by several factors, including pandemic-related delays, attorney retirements and illness. The state had at one point faced the question of whether to seek the death penalty, but it did not pursue death sentences as part of the final resolution. Venzer pressed the men for an explanation during sentencing and asked why the victims had been killed. Neither man answered. “How unfortunate that families will never understand,” Venzer said, adding that the men would have time to think about what happened.

Defense attorney Jimmy Della Fera said after the plea that he did not want to reopen the emotions from the earlier hearing by having Jackson speak at length in court. He said there was relief for the victims’ family and for Jackson’s family that the case had ended. Loved ones of Anderson and Walker declined to comment after one report on the plea. The silence left the judge’s questions hanging in a case where the legal ending came without a full public explanation from the two men who admitted guilt.

The plea deal now stands as the final court resolution in a case that began with two bodies found in a Miami Gardens home in July 2013 and ended with prison sentences in April 2026. Jackson and Martin remain in state custody under the sentences imposed by Venzer.

Author note: Last updated May 18, 2026.