Pedestrian killed in Milwaukee, man charged with intentional homicide
Chad Martinez
MILWAUKEE - A West Allis man is accused of intentionally running over his roommate with a pickup truck, killing him, on Milwaukee's south side earlier this month.
In Court:
Prosecutors charged 54-year-old Chad Martinez with first-degree intentional homicide. Court records show he's being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on $250,000 bond.
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Muskego and Burnham
The backstory:
According to a criminal complaint, first responders found the victim – identified as 50-year-old John Bacher – with "significant injuries" in the street around 5:15 p.m. on Aug. 10. He died while being taken to the hospital.
An autopsy determined Bacher suffered numerous blunt force injuries, including a fractured spine.
Milwaukee Police Department (MPD)
What they're saying:
Court filings said a witness told police he saw a beige Ford F-150 pickup truck with dealer plates hit Bacher and drive away. He said he had seen the same truck and its driver at a nearby car dealership before the crash and said the vehicle "caught his eye because he was interested in buying one."
Surveillance video showed Bacher walking on Muskego Avenue toward Burnham Street when the truck passed him, according to the complaint. The truck then made a U-turn at 21st Street and drove through a parking lane – bypassing all other vehicles that were stopped at an intersection – and driving "directly towards Bacher." Video also showed the truck running over Bacher and dragging his body more than 100 feet.
Martinez in custody
Dig deeper:
Officers went to the car dealership associated with the truck's plates and found the vehicle parked and still running in the parking lot. Court filings said there was a man in the driver's seat with his head "slumped back, eyes closed" who matched the witness' description of the driver, identified as Martinez.
Officers woke Martinez up and turned off the truck. The complaint said Martinez had "a strong odor of alcohol and an odor of urine emanating from his person" as he stumbled out of the truck. Officers conducted field sobriety tests, and a preliminary breath test registered a reading of 0.215 BrAC – more than double the legal limit.
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Video footage from the car dealership, as well as a nearby business, showed the truck pulling into the lot roughly 28 minutes after the initial 911 calls about the pedestrian who was struck. The truck remained there until officers arrived and arrested Martinez; in that time, no one entered or exited the truck.
The truck was towed from the car dealership with "apparent blood" on the bottom "consistent with having run over a person," per the complaint.
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What they're saying:
Prosecutors said Martinez told police that Bacher was his roommate, and they'd known each other for 25 years. He also said they worked together at the car dealership. He said he woke up less than three hours before the crash and drank about a liter of whiskey before they went to a store together. He drank more whiskey at home before he "passed out on the couch" and "the next thing he remembers is the police trying to get him to do field sobriety tests."
During a second interview, court filings said Martinez "remained adamant" that he did not remember what happened and that he "blacked out." He also described the truck as his vehicle and that only he and Bacher drive it; there is only one key.
The Source: FOX6 News referenced information from the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.