WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP, Pa. — An Allentown man has been charged in a shooting Saturday that left a Palmerton man dead in a parking lot off MacArthur Road.
Christian Martinez-Ramos, 35, was charged with homicide and aggravated assault in the death of Hector Manuel Garcia Gomez, 46 of Palmerton, Carbon County.
The announcement came in a release from Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan and Whitehall Township Police Chief Michael Marks.
Garcia Gomez apparently was having an affair with Martinez-Ramos's neighbor, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case, but it doesn't make clear how that played into the shooting.
Garcia Gomez died of gunshot wounds to the torso, Lehigh County Coroner Dan Buglio said after an autopsy Monday.
Garcia Gomez suffered multiple gunshot wounds, according to Buglio, who ruled the manner of death a homicide.
Martinez-Ramos was arraigned Wednesday morning and sent to Lehigh County Jail with no possibility of bail. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for 1:15 p.m. Dec. 17.
Holihan said that at 6:03 p.m. Saturday, Whitehall police responded to a shooting in the parking lot of Loco Hot Deals, at 1155 MacArthur Road.
Officers found Garcia Gomez with multiple gunshot wounds to his abdomen and he was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead, the release said.
The men had prior arguments
The affidavit of probable cause said video surveillance showed Garcia Gomez’s vehicle arriving at the store.
While Garcia Gomez’s wife, Brenda Rodriguez, stayed inside the car, on her cell phone, Garcia Gomez went into the store for several minutes.
As he did, the suspect’s vehicle pulled into the parking lot, the release says.
As Garcia Gomez left the store and began to get inside his car, the suspect vehicle parked behind him and multiple gunshots were fired at Garcia Gomez from inside the suspect vehicle, Holihan said.
The suspect vehicle fled the scene, but the license plate on the vehicle was obtained by a license plate reader and came back to a different vehicle owned by Martinez-Ramos, according to the news release.
Martinez-Ramos also faces misdemeanor charges of possession of instruments of crime/weapon, criminal mischief — tampering with property, and recklessly endangering another person.
The investigation revealed that Garcia Gomez had a previous disturbance involving Martinez-Ramos on three days earlier at Auto Zone on MacArthur Road in Whitehall.
In that incident Dec. 4, Garcia Gomez was shopping, and was approached by Martinez-Ramos, and in an argument told him to "come out and fight me like a man," according to court records.
They left the store, and Garcia Gomez punched Martinez-Ramos, who then told a male believed to be his son to go to the car and get a gun, but instead got into the car with the other male, records show.
Brenda Rodriguez told police her husband and Martinez-Ramos also had a physical altercation in October, when Martinez-Ramos assaulted Garcia Gomez, according to authorities.
Phone records
Police said that phone records showed that a woman who lived with Martinez-Ramos had been informing Rodriguez about Garcia Gomez having an affair with her neighbor.
That woman sent Rodriguez a text message shortly before the shooting and asked her where she was, police said.
Rodriguez then called the woman and told her. Minutes later, police said, store video showed Martinez-Ramos' vehicle arriving.
The woman later admitted to police she relayed Garcia Gomez's location to Martinez-Ramos, according to authorities.
On Saturday, police interviewed the woman with whom Garcia Gomez allegedly was having the affair and she told them she called Garcia Gomez while he was in the ambulance.
The affidavit says he answered the call, and told the woman, "baby, the guy from upstairs shot me and I'm going to die."
Text messages discovered later indicate that Martinez-Ramos texted the woman with whom he lived about 30 minutes after the shooting saying he intended to “burn the car and tell the owner it was reported stolen.”
The woman also told investigators that Martinez-Ramos admitted that he shot Garcia Gomez.
Police say that during questioning, Martinez-Ramos said he "just wanted to scare" Garcia Gomez, but ended up shooting him.
This case was investigated by Whitehall Police Detective Lindsay Yetter, Lehigh County Homicide Task Force Detectives James Bruchak, Timothy Salgado and Amaury Almonte.
It will be prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney James A. Augustine, Holihan said.
