A man was arrested April 28 after police responded to reports of a possible gunshot at Rust Trailer Park in Cortez.
Officer Taylor Marston responded to North Elm Street around 11:31 p.m. As he arrived at the trailer park, a white Jeep left the scene, heading east on Empire Street.
A man at the trailer park told Marston he heard what sounded like backfire or a firecracker before he saw a truck drive away. Another resident told Sgt. Koby Guttridge that he saw a white vehicle leaving as police arrived.
Officer Tyler Smith pulled the Jeep over on East Main Street. The driver, identified as Zachary Bush, told police he was jump-starting a vehicle when a fight broke out. He said an individual driving a dark, lifted vehicle fired a gun in the air.
Police searched the Jeep and discovered a Taurus Arms 9 mm handgun with green paint on the handle, which was hidden under a beanie in the backseat where Aaron Martinez was sitting, along with a machete, knife and an AR-15-style rifle with a defaced serial number.
Officers also found drug paraphernalia, including smoking devices with burned residue and hypodermic needles, and a small bag with suspected meth weighing 9.1 grams.
Martinez was arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance, drug paraphernalia, a defaced firearm and possessing a firearm as a felon.
At the Montezuma County Detention Center, officers found another 5.4 grams of suspected meth on his person. The total weight of the substance found in the vehicle and on Martinez’s person was 14.5 grams.
Martinez will appear at the Montezuma County Combined Courts for his return filing of charges on Tuesday, May 13 at 9:30 a.m.
