A man who allegedly threatened to shoot up his nephew’s house ended up being shot in the arm, according to Española Police.
Manuel Martinez, 49, of Abiquiú, allegedly showed up to a Coyote house around 2 p.m. Jan. 1 and threatened to come back later and “shoot it up,” according to dispatch logs. Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the scene as a harassment complaint but by 3 p.m. they called for an ambulance after discovering Martinez had been shot in the arm.
The alleged shooter, Martinez’s nephew David Martinez, told police Martinez approached him on his Coyote property brandishing a rifle and threatening to kill him. Manuel Martinez then allegedly left the scene and upon returning fired at David Martinez, court documents state.
David Martinez told police he fired back at his uncle once and missed him, then shot again and struck him.
“(David Martinez) said he felt it was either him or his uncle,” Española Police Detective Bryan Martinez said.
Manuel Martinez was shot in the right bicep and transported to University of New Mexico Hospital, where he is currently in stable condition, Det. Martinez said. The surgeon who treated Martinez recovered bullets later taken into evidence, dispatch logs state.
Deputies took David Martinez’s rifle into evidence when they arrived on the scene. Det. Martinez was called to assist in processing the scene and also prepared court documents for David Martinez’s arrest. Sheriff’s Lt. Manuel Valdez said Det. Martinez was called outside Española Police jurisdiction because the deputies needed help with the case.
David Martinez was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with intent to commit a violent felony, shooting at or from an occupied dwelling and negligent use of a deadly weapon because he admitted to using the weapon after drinking an unspecified amount of beer during the day, according to court documents. He was being held at Rio Arriba County Jail on $50,000 bond.
A box of bullets was found in Manuel Martinez’s pocket, dispatch logs state. Sheriff’s department Det. Wayne Salazar said any charges against Martinez for allegedly firing at his nephew’s house would be decided by the District Attorney’s office.
“Generally on cases like this we prefer to take it to the grand jury,” Salazar said. “Especially when you have a family situation with conflicting stories and things like that.”
Manuel Martinez was also a victim in a July 21, 2007, incident in which an unknown assailant stabbed him four times in the back, shoulders and face. Martinez said at the time that he was attacked outside Los Caminos bar by a former friend with a 3.5-inch dagger. Parts of Martinez’s story were not collaborated by witnesses and the alleged assailant was never charged in the incident.