Key Takeaways
- A homeowner returned to find an armed intruder in his house on June 5, resulting in a shooting.
- The intruder, identified as Ismael Martinez, opened fire with a shotgun but was shot by the homeowner during the confrontation.
- Martinez had assaulted his girlfriend before the break-in and was later pronounced dead at the scene.
- There was no known connection between Martinez and the homeowner’s residence, making the intruder a stranger.
- The case is under investigation by the Central Homicide Unit and will be reviewed by the District Attorney’s Office.
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SAN JACINTO, CA — A homeowner here came back to his house late Friday to find an armed stranger inside, and when that intruder opened fire on him, he fired back.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were sent to the 1300 block of Heron Way at 10:23 p.m. on June 5 for an assault with a deadly weapon. They arrived to find evidence of a shooting and a man with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators say the homeowner had been visiting a neighbor when he heard screaming and gunfire coming from his own home. He ran back and saw an unknown man inside, armed with a shotgun.
The homeowner armed himself and confronted the intruder. During that confrontation, the intruder fired multiple rounds at him. The homeowner returned fire and struck him. No one else was injured.
In an updated release, homicide investigators identified the man as 45-year-old Ismael Martinez of San Jacinto. They say that before the break-in, Martinez had assaulted his 52-year-old girlfriend with a knife. She was found in a vehicle near the scene, in the 1300 block of South Kirby Street, and taken to a hospital, where she remains in stable condition.
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Investigators say there is no indication that Martinez or his girlfriend had any connection to the home on Heron Way. In plain terms, this was a stranger forcing his way into someone else’s house with a gun.
This is exactly the situation the right to keep and bear arms exists for. A man walked into his own home, found an armed intruder, and was shot at inside the place he lives. He was not protecting furniture or possessions. He was facing a person actively firing a gun at him, and he had the means to answer that threat. Take the firearm out of his hands and it is hard to see how he walks away.
The homeowner was taken to the San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station for questioning. No arrests have been made. The Central Homicide Unit is handling the investigation, and the case will be submitted to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office for review.
