Man who allegedly shot Vernal officer charged

The man accused of shooting a Vernal police officer and then firing multiple shots into an occupied home has been charged with two counts of attempted aggravated murder.

Jesus E. "Jesse" Martinez, 24, also was charged Wednesday in 8th District Court with multiple first-degree felonies, including aggravated burglary.

About 10:20 p.m. Saturday, officers were called to a home at 150 Dale Ave. after witnesses spotted Martinez peering through the home's windows, according to the charges. The home belongs to Martinez's ex-girlfriend, who lives there with the pair's children, her new boyfriend and the man's son from a previous relationship.

When Vernal police officer Dustin Gray approached the home, court records state Martinez stood up from behind an SUV parked in the driveway and fired four shots at the officer. Gray was hit once in the upper left leg with a .40-caliber slug. The bullet missed the bone and major arteries and passed cleanly through Gray's leg, said acting Vernal Police Chief Dylan Rooks.

The wounded officer made his way behind another vehicle for cover. That's when police say Martinez walked over to the home and fired at least eight shots through a window into the basement living room. Rooks said Martinez jumped through the window and attacked his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend, Wes Snyder.

"Martinez put the gun to the guy's head and says, 'I'm going to kill you,' " Rooks said.

The two men began a "violent struggle" for the gun. Martinez's ex-girlfriend took the three children upstairs and hid with them under a bed until additional officers arrived.

Officers arrived and arrested Martinez. Gray, Martinez and Snyder were taken to a nearby hospital. Gray was released from the hospital Sunday.

In June 2008, Martinez was convicted of misdemeanor charges of domestic violence in the presence of a child, simple assault and fleeing from police. The victim in the case is the same woman Martinez is accused of seeking out Saturday night, according to police.

Court papers filed in that case state that Martinez choked the woman, then knocked her to the ground and kneeled over her, punching her repeatedly in the head before she was able to escape.

The woman also documented a 2006 incident of alleged domestic violence as part of an application for a protective order. In her statement she said Martinez attacked another man she was dating, biting the man twice in the shoulder and hitting him in the face. She said Martinez continued the assault even though he'd dislocated his shoulder.

"I now fear for my safety and don't know what Jesse will do next," the woman wrote. "I fear for the safety of my children."

Martinez will make his initial court appearance Nov. 9 on the new charges, which include two counts of attempted aggravated murder and one count of aggravated burglary, all first-degree felonies; as well as three counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury to another, felony discharge of a firearm and domestic violence battery enhanced, all third-degree felonies. He remains in the Uintah County Jail.

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