Suspect arrested in gas station shooting
For The Madera Tribune
Luis Martinez.
A suspect awaits arraignment on suspicion of shooting a Fresno man in front of his wife and daughter, following a gang-related confrontation at a gas station in Madera last week.
According to Madera Police Sgt. Josiah Arnold, Luis Martinez, 24, was arrested in Fresno by members of the Special Investigations Unit late Thursday morning.
Martinez, who was on probation, was suspected of shooting a man Sept. 30. at the 76 service station on Pecan and Madera avenues.
“He was at a gas station, and a rival gang member showed up, and parked at the pump next to him. The rival gang member had his wife, and his little daughter in the car,” Arnold said. “The victim gets out, and they start kind of looking at each other, talking to each other, as the victim walks past this guy. Then, he basically says he’s going to fight the victim, and as the victim’s standing there, basically getting ready to get into a fight, this guy shoots him from the window, and then gets out, and shoots him again.”
Surveillance shows that after the victim was fired upon, he fell to the ground. Upon getting up to run, the suspect then stepped out of the vehicle to fire again. According to Arnold, the victim’s wife then picked him up in the car and drove him to Madera Community Hospital. He was transferred to the trauma center at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, where he was later released.
Of the three shots fired, police said, one struck the victim directly, while another grazed him. Arnold described the victim as “very lucky to be alive,” but also lamented that “his wife and daughter had to watch him get shot.”
According to Arnold, Martinez had an address in Kerman, but was staying in Fresno, and that this shooting was not a reflection of Madera, but a case of two gang members from out of town, who happened to be passing through.
Martinez was later booked into Madera County Jail, and has been charged with attempted murder with gang enhancements.
