No bail for accused Vernal cop shooter

VERNAL — A judge has denied bail for a man accused of shooting a Vernal police officer on Halloween night.

Jesus E. Martinez Jr. is charged in 8th District Court with two counts of attempted aggravated murder and one count of aggravated burglary, all first-degree felonies; as well as three counts of aggravated assault, discharge of a firearm, and domestic-violence battery, all third-degree felonies.

During a hearing Tuesday, Judge A. Lynn Payne declined to alter a no-bail order he signed following Martinez's arrest.

Martinez, 24, is accused of shooting Vernal police officer Dustin Gray on Oct. 31. Gray was hit once in the upper thigh with a bullet that missed the bone and arteries in his leg.

After firing at Gray, Martinez fired multiple shots into his ex-girlfriend's home, then dove through a window and threatened to kill the woman's fiance, according to the charges. Martinez's ex-girlfriend, his two children with the woman, and the fiance's child were in the home at the time of the incident.

Court records show Martinez has a history of violence against the woman. He remains in the Uintah County Jail.

— Geoff Liesik