Man shot by DeSoto police while holding child was wanted for aggravated kidnapping
DESOTO, Texas - A man who was shot and killed by DeSoto police over the weekend was wanted on multiple warrants, including aggravated kidnapping for ransom.
Police identified the man shot as 34-year-old Jesse Martinez on Tuesday.
New surveillance video shows the tense moments between DeSoto police and Martinez, who was refusing to put down a handgun and a child early Sunday morning.
Police say Martinez remained uncooperative and threatened to shoot at officers. One officer opened fire, killing Martinez.
Sunday around 3:30 a.m., police say Martinez, two women and a child were knocking on doors and trespassing through yards in a DeSoto neighborhood near North Hampton Road and East Pleasant Run.
Neighbors told FOX 4 Martinez at times asked for an Uber and water.
"I’m glad this man is off the streets," said neighbor Angelina Salinas. "Not the good way to go out, but at least he no longer a threat to anybody."
However, Salinas says her gut told her not to answer the door when one of the women approached her home.
FOX 4 blurred the woman’s face because she isn’t facing criminal charges at this time.
"We never know or knew how far this man would have gone to achieve whatever he was trying to achieve," Salinas said.
At the time of Martinez’s death, there was an active warrant for his arrest.
Jesse Martinez
Court documents show he violated his bond on charges of aggravated kidnapping and sexual assault of a minor — by tampering with his electronic monitor.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit from the December 2021 incident, police were called out to a Dallas home where Martinez was threatening to kidnap a teenager at gunpoint.
Police say weeks earlier, that teen made an outcry, saying he repeatedly sexually assaulted her.
Once she was safe, the teenager at the time claimed Martinez was part of a cartel and had a lot of drugs, gun and money, but that allegation hasn’t been confirmed.
Salinas questions the relationship between Martinez, the women, and the child - who police confirm was handed over to family members.
"I do want to know what else there is to know," he said.
As of Wednesday, police haven’t released the connection between all four of them. Their motive is also still unknown.
"How these ladies ended up in the situation? How the baby ended up in the situation?" Salinas asked.
Police say the two women were brought in for questioning, but no charges have been announced. Initially, they wouldn’t provide Martinez’s identity.
Grand Prairie Police are investigating the shooting. The Public Integrity Unit of the Dallas County District Attorney's Office is also involved in the investigation.