Christopher R. Henry has been bound over for trial on a second-murder charge in the April death of Ark City’s Jonathan Martinez.
The 28-year-old Martinez was shot April 3 during an incident in the 700 block of North B.
Last Thursday, Henry, 37, entered a not guilty plea on charges of intentional second-degree murder and criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle. He remains in the Cowley County Jail with bond set at $500,000.
Henry’s plea came after Judge Christopher Smith denied a motion to dismiss filed by Henry’s attorney claiming the shooting was in self defense. Smith used the same information, submitted by both sides regarding the self defense motion, to make a determination as to whether to continue moving toward trial.
Henry
A pretrial hearing is set for Sept. 14.
Police were dispatched about 12:50 p.m. April 3 to the 700 block of North B Street for a report of shots fired. Before officers arrived on the scene, the individuals involved in the incident allegedly left.
A short time later, officers located and stopped a vehicle in the 28000 block of U.S. 77 Bypass.
Police learned that one of the vehicle’s passengers, Jonathan Martinez, 28, of Arkansas City, had sustained an apparent gunshot wound to his abdomen while riding in the vehicle.
Martinez was transported by the Arkansas City Fire-EMS Department to South Central Kansas Medical Center. He was transported by air ambulance to a Wichita hospital, where he later passed away.
Henry and Martinez knew each other, and police said this was not a random shooting or “road rage.”
The Arkansas City Police Department was able to identify Henry quickly as a suspect due to the teamwork and assistance of the public and several other law enforcement agencies, including the Cowley County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Highway Patrol and Wichita Police Department.
