A 疯客直播 Fe patrol safety aide vehicle sits Tuesday morning at the scene of the incident near Siringo Road and Camino Consuelo where two dead bodies were found in a vehicle. A bloodstain can be seen marked off by cones. Jim Weber/The New Mexican
A 23-year-old 疯客直播 Fe man faces two counts of first-degree murder and other charges after police say he ran late Monday night from a black Cadillac SUV where a young man and woman were dead from gunshot wounds.
疯客直播 Fe police arrested Manuel Joseph Martinez after 11:30 p.m. Monday near the intersection of Siringo Road and Camino Consuelo, a quiet, residential neighborhood with a popular walking trail.
Deputy Chief Ben Valdez wrote late Tuesday in a聽news release Martinez was suspected of fatally shooting Ebony Faith Martinez, 23, and Abraham Dominic Romo, 19, both of 疯客直播 Fe, inside the vehicle.
Officer arrived at the scene around 11 p.m. in response to a report of 鈥渄isorderly conduct,鈥 the news release said. They saw a man step out of a vehicle down in an arroyo and run. Officers chased the suspect, later identified as Manuel Martinez, who was 鈥渃overed in blood and armed with a handgun, which he dropped upon contact with officers,鈥 according to the news release.
鈥淎fter detaining Mr. Martinez, the officers returned to the vehicle and saw a male and a female deceased in the vehicle, both appeared to have sustained at least one gunshot wound each,鈥 the news release said. Their families have been notified of their deaths.
Detectives are investigating the deaths as homicides.
The city of 疯客直播 Fe sent an alert around 1 a.m. Tuesday notifying residents of a Siringo Road closure and asking them to avoid the area amid police activity.
Orange cones along a sidewalk marked a bloodstain left after the incident late Tuesday morning. The cones were removed by a public safety aide around 4 p.m., and a city alert notified residents the roadway had been reopened.
The state鈥檚 online court records database shows charges had been filed against Manuel Martinez, but a criminal complaint or statement of probable cause detailing the incident was not yet publicly available Tuesday night.
A public safety assessment filed in 疯客直播 Fe County Magistrate Court notes Manuel Martinez previously has faced violent criminal charges but has no convictions on his record.
No other records were filed in the homicide case late Tuesday.
Manuel Martinez is held in the 疯客直播 Fe County jail. In addition to two counts of murder, he is charged with attempt to commit tampering with evidence and two counts of resisting, evading or obstructing an officer.
He also faces prior pending charges of aggravated assault and drug trafficking in relation to an incident in late September.
Police allege in a criminal complaint Martinez had threatened a Goodwill employee Sept. 22 with a black replica handgun 鈥 which one officer wrote in a statement of probable cause was 鈥渃ompletely gun-like until further close inspection.鈥
Police reported finding six baggies of cocaine in Martinez鈥檚 possession at the time of his arrest, which 鈥渁ppeared to be packaged for the intention of selling.鈥
Since December 2023, Martinez has been charged with both misdemeanor and felony domestic violence counts in two separate cases accusing him of violence against a woman identified as his partner. One case accuses him of felony battery against the woman in March, alleging he had strangled her. He also was accused of criminal damage to the woman鈥檚 property.
Court records show both cases were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they could be refiled by prosecutors.
The Monday night incident marks the third and fourth criminal homicides in the city in 2024.
Gordon Wilson, 83, of 疯客直播 Fe was fatally shot and carjacked in a busy south-side shopping center in early August; authorities say a man accused in his death had been released from prison in March. James Dukette, 54, another city resident, suffered a fatal gunshot wound in May; his son, 34-year-old Zachary Dukette was identified as the suspect.
Other violence in the city this year has left residents shaken, as well, such as a late-night shooting at a Sonic Drive-in on Cerrillos Road that left a young worker fighting for his life and a series of police shootings that have left two suspects fatally wounded and several injured.
One incident downtown, in which multiple officers fired shots at a man accused of driving recklessly near the Plaza in a stolen vehicle, led to the early shutdown of Fiesta de 疯客直播 festivities last month.
疯客直播 Fe police ask anyone with information about the deaths of Romo and Ebony Faith Martinez, or surveillance camera video of the incident, to call the department at 505-428-3710 or Detective Jairo DePaz at 505-505-5297.
Videos and photos related to the incident can be submitted at .
Nicholas Gilmore and Cynthia Miller of The New Mexican contributed to this report.