LASD release bodycam of deputy shooting armed suspect from a domestic violence call in Castaic
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Deputies with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station responded to the 28000 block of Sloan Canyon Road at approximately 12:05 p.m. for a “shots fired” call involving a man and woman, said Deputy Robert Jensen, a spokesman with the station.
According to the video, the 9-1-1 caller stated they heard a man and woman arguing in a vehicle, and while emergency dispatchers were on the line, multiple gun shots could be heard in the background.
Body-cam footage from a deputy, only identified as Deputy No. 1, arrived at the scene and identified 43-year-old Raul Ramirez as the suspect, who was standing with a woman “near the vehicle behind the open driver’s side door,” and appeared to be having a physical altercation, according to the video.
In the moments leading up to the shooting, Martinez could be seen holding the victim down with the firearm in his right hand, according to the video.
“When Deputy No. 1 exited his patrol vehicle, Martinez produced a handgun and turned in the direction of the deputy,” the video stated. An officer-involved shooting occurred, and Martinez was struck by gunfire.
The firearm Martinez was holding was recovered near the woman’s feet, and Martinez could be seen laying on the floor after the shooting occurred, according to the video.
Two firearms were recovered from the scene of the crime, a loaded semi-automatic 9 mm handgun and a loaded .22-caliber revolver.
As detectives conducted their investigation, they learned that Martinez discharged his handgun twice during the domestic dispute, “one of the rounds fired by Martinez was into the vehicle occupied by his child.”
Neither the woman nor the child in the car reported any injuries from the incident, according to officials. No deputies were hurt, either.
Martinez was hospitalized at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital after the shooting, where he was treated for nonlife-threatening injuries prior to his arrest by Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies.
He was booked at the station Oct. 17, according to LASD custody records available online.
He currently stands charged with a half-dozen felony charges, as well as special allegations related to charges he used a gun in the commission of the alleged crimes.
The charges include: assault with a deadly weapon, with the special allegation of a firearm being used, as well that Martinez has a previous violent felony conviction; false imprisonment by violence; willful cruelty to a child; two counts of willful discharge of a firearm in a grossly negligent manner; and a charge that he was a felon in possession of a firearm.
A criminal complaint obtained by The Signal indicated Martinez has a 2012 conviction for a robbery charge and a 2016 felony conviction for domestic violence.
Martinez is being held at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Downtown Los Angeles in lieu of $275,000 bail.
A court date to set his preliminary hearing Friday was continued until Jan. 6, according to L.A. County Superior Court records available online.