On Sunday, Roswell police received multiple calls of gunshots in the southern part of the city. When they got to the area they found a man shot to death inside a car.
ROSWELL, N.M. — On Sunday, Roswell police received multiple calls of gunshots in the southern part of the city. When they got to the area they found a man shot to death inside a car.
“Mr. Soltero is alleged to have fired multiple shots from the pickup as he drove by, striking the vehicle containing Mr. Allen and striking Mr. Allen himself,” said Todd Wildermuth, public information officer with the Roswell Police Department.
Roswell police say 20-year-old Martin Soltero III shot and killed 53-year-old Freddie Allen.
Investigators say there were roughly 16 bullet holes in the driver-side door of the car where Allen was found.
Witnesses were able to tell police what Soltero was driving, a red pickup truck, but not much else.
“We believe that Mr. Soltero was wearing a ski-type mask to cover his face at the time that the shooting was carried out,” said Wildermuth.
A couple of hours later, that red pickup truck was seen in another part of town.
“one of our sergeants spotted the vehicle at another place in town, was able to do a traffic stop, and take Mr. Soltero into custody.”
Officers say they found a rifle, and a loaded handgun in the truck which Soltero says are not his.
According to the criminal complaint, soltero claimed the truck belonged to his dead brother and that he did not know the victim. But officers believe the two know each other in some way.
“We believe that they knew each other at least a little bit and it could have been more than that,” said Wildermuth.
Soltero is a convicted felon and police say he isn’t allowed to have any firearms.
Soltero is charged with first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and two counts of felon in possession of a firearm. He will find out if he will have to stay in jail until trial, next week.
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