A Walmart employee accused of fatally shooting a man at Walmart’s Roswell store will be taken into custody.
Judge Dustin K. Hunter of New Mexico’s Fifth Judicial District on Friday asked the District Attorney’s Office to keep 18-year-old Joshua Martinez in custody pending trial on charges of second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm by a minor. The complaint was accepted. 18-year-old.
Hunter admitted the allegations during a hearing conducted via Google Meet. In sentencing, Hunter said Martinez was on juvenile probation and prohibited from owning a firearm when he shot and killed Steve Soltero in the aisle of a Walmart Supercenter in Roswell on Oct. 14. It pointed out.
“It’s clear to the court that if he can’t comply with his release conditions of not having a gun while on probation, there’s nothing I can do to create one that he will comply with in the future,” Hunter said. .
At the hearing, Chaves County Chief Deputy District Attorney Hunter Spindle argued that Martinez is a flight risk and poses a potential danger to witnesses if released.
Martinez’s attorney, Sandra Gallagher, argued that no evidence had been presented to show her client posed a threat to witnesses and that she should be released on bail and other conditions.
She also noted that Soltero was believed to have had a gun when he was shot. Gallagher argued that Martinez fired seven shots at Soltero in self-defense.
Roswell Police Department Detective Gino Basile said on the night of the shooting that investigators were able to identify Martinez as the assailant through surveillance video, detectives who had previously met with Martinez, and fellow Walmart employees. He testified that he was able to do so.
Although the surveillance camera footage did not include audio, Basil said footage from the moments before the shooting showed Soltero and Tiberi walking towards the front register and Martinez behind them in the same direction. It is said that he was seen heading towards the scene.
Soltero and Tiberi are shown stopping and turning around to look at Martinez. Soltero then waves at Martinez. The couple then leaves as Martinez gives chase. They then stopped and Martinez caught up with them.
What ensued was what Basil described in his testimony as a physical altercation. Tiberi reportedly tried to hit Martinez. After the shoving and shoving continued, Soltero retreated to another aisle, hid behind a pallet of merchandise and was reportedly seen on video reaching for his waistband.
“The defendant followed her down an alley while pulling a firearm from her backpack,” Basil testified.
Martinez then spots Soltero and shoots him. The gunman, later identified as Martinez, is seen on video picking up a backpack and leaving the store, Basile said.
Near Soltero, Tiberi is reportedly seen on video taking the item from him and putting it in his pocket, then hiding it behind items on a shelf. Basil later testified that a small handgun was found at the same location.
On Oct. 16, police found Martinez while executing a search warrant at an apparent apartment in the 1600 block of Main Street. Basile testified that three firearms were found in the apartment, including the Glock 20 handgun believed to have been used to shoot Soltero.
Basile also testified during questioning that Martinez claimed he acted in self-defense when he saw Soltero holding a gun. He said the incident and dispute arose after Mr. Soltero filed the accusation against him.