Post by Scumhunter on Jun 7, 2024 12:39:52 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: Nola.com via Gretna Police)
From Nola.com:
A man who authorities say fled town after he gunned down his girlfriend's former lover in the parking lot of a Gretna apartment complex in January has been indicted with murder.
Carlos Daniel Martinez Ramirez, 29, was still on the run as of Wednesday, according to the Gretna Police Department. But a Jefferson Parish grand jury indicted him May 30 with second-degree murder and obstruction of justice, court records said.
Martinez is accused of killing Jhonas Armando Garcia Carbajal, a 39-year-old Terrytown man who'd had an off-and-on affair with Patricia Lopez Melgar, Martinez's girlfriend and the mother of his children, police said.
Things had cooled between Garcia and Lopez. The pair hadn't spoken to one another for several months when authorities say Garcia received an Instagram message from her on the morning Jan. 3.
In messages exchanged throughout the day, Lopez asked Garcia to pay her a visit that evening at her residence, the Boulevard Apartment Homes in the 900 block of Gretna Boulevard, Detective Brad Cheramie said during a hearing earlier this year.
According to the indictment, authorities suspect it was Martinez who communicated with Garcia and lured him to the apartments. In the messages, Garcia was provided with the complex's gate code and instructed to leave his truck doors unlocked, police said.
When Garcia parked in the complex, Martinez opened the passenger door of his truck and entered the vehicle. A surveillance camera was recording as the two men began fighting inside the truck, police said.
Martinez, who was armed, fired a gun, shattering the rear driver's side window. Garcia managed to get out of the truck and tried asking a passing car for help before running, police said.
Martinez stepped out of the truck and followed, chasing down Garcia before shooting him in the stomach.
"The suspect stands over [Garcia] and shoots several times to the victim's face," Cheramie said.
Lopez was is seen on the surveillance video standing in the parking lot, watching the fight and gunfire inside the truck, according to police. She walks away and was later seen on video talking to Martinez in a breezeway of the apartment complex after Garcia's shooting.
While Martinez fled the crime scene, Lopez returned to her apartment in the complex as police officers arrived to investigate the shooting, authorities said. She waited until law enforcement left several hours later before relocating to a relative's house in Metairie, according to Cheramie.
Lopez and Martinez were identified as suspects in the case after detectives found Garcia's phone and began scrutinizing the messages he received.
Lopez was arrested a day after the shooting and initially booked with being a principal to second-degree murder and attempted armed robbery.
But the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office, instead, formally charged her with failing to notify law enforcement and seek medical assistance for Garcia, court records said. She pleaded not guilty May 8, court records said.
A warrant has been issued for Martinez's arrest, but authorities aren't sure where he may be hiding, police said.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Carlos Daniel Martinez Ramirez is asked to call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-7867. Callers do not have to give their names or testify and can earn a $2,500 reward for information that leads to an indictment.
www.nola.com/news/crime_police/gretna-murder-carlos-martinez-jhonas-garcia-carbajal/article_93f5a8b0-2368-11ef-b5d0-7b7b38f2c6aa.html
Thought? Based on the above article’s posting date, Martinez was still at large at least as of June 6th, 2024.
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