How do you become a silent witness?
What is a silent witness and how do you become one?
The Republic
Officials with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office arrested an 18-year-old man Wednesday in connection with a shooting in Guadalupe that left a boy dead over the weekend.
Albert Martinez was arrested on suspicion of premeditated murder following the shooting on Sunday evening near Calle Batoua and Calle Magdalena in the town of Guadalupe, a Pascua Yaqui tribal community.
On the night of the incident, deputies received reports of multiple gunshots around 11:30 p.m. and arrived at the scene to find several people gathered around a 17-year-old boy with a gunshot wound.
Guadalupe Fire Department personnel performed life-saving measures and transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly before midnight.
According to court documents, police spoke to a woman at the scene who said she was the girlfriend of the boy who was shot and the ex-girlfriend of the shooter, whom she identified as Martinez.
The victim’s girlfriend told police she was standing outside her house with her boyfriend when Martinez drove by in a black Chevrolet Silverado and got into a verbal argument with the boyfriend, court documents state.
Martinez took off, heading south toward the intersection, and the boyfriend pursued the vehicle, the girlfriend told police. She then grabbed her father from their home and they ran after the victim when they heard several gunshots and saw him fall to the ground, court documents say.
Police said the girlfriend, her father and her brother confirmed they heard the gunshots and saw the black Chevrolet Silverado drive away from the scene. They did not believe the 17-year-old was armed, court documents say.
Officers reviewed camera footage from the area and confirmed that the truck’s license plate belonged to a vehicle owned by Martinez’s father.
Martinez was contacted by officers on Wednesday and arrested.
In an interview with police after his arrest, Martinez said he was driving near his ex-girlfriend’s residence on Sunday when he got into a verbal argument with the boy, whom he had never met before.
According to court documents, Martinez said he drove away from the house and saw the victim running after the vehicle. He and an unidentified friend of his exited the vehicle with the intention of starting a fight with the boy. At that point, the passenger shot the victim at least once. According to court documents, Martinez told police he then took the gun from his friend and also shot the victim at least once.
The victim fell to the ground a short time later.
According to court documents, Martinez told police that he and his friend got back into the vehicle and fled the scene.
Video surveillance could not confirm whether Martinez was alone during the incident.
After questioning, officers arrested Martinez on suspicion of first-degree murder.
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