Court of Appeals rejects motion seeking release of accused gunman in Oñate protest shooting

Ryan Martinez, of Sandia Park, talks with Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s deputies outside the Rio Arriba County Building in Española on Sept. 28.

Eddie Moore / Journal

Olivier Uyttebrouck Olivier Uyttebrouck Olivier Uyttebrouck Staff Writer

Published November 21, 2023 - 5:54 a.m. Modified December 25, 2024 - 2:00 a.m.

A man charged in the Sept. 28 shooting of a Native American activist in Española will remain in custody while he awaits trial for attempted murder and other charges, the New Mexico Court of Appeals ruled on Monday.

Ryan Martinez, 23, allegedly shot the man during a rally celebrating a decision by Rio Arriba County officials to postpone relocating a controversial statue of conquistador Juan de Oñate to a public location in Española.

Nicole Moss, an attorney for Martinez, said Monday that the Court of Appeals ruling, “while disappointing, is not surprising” because the evidence presented by prosecutors “was not a complete and accurate record of what actually happened that day at the Rio Arriba County Complex.”

Moss contends that Martinez had peacefully attended the rally and was attempting to get close to the statue pedestal for a photograph when he was violently attacked by a group of anti-Oñate protesters.

Martinez, a Sandia Park man with no criminal history, was in danger of being severely beaten or killed by protesters when he fired a handgun in self-defense, Moss said.

Native American activist Jacob Johns of Spokane, Washington, was struck in the torso by a single gunshot and airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital where he underwent surgery.

Martinez was charged Oct. 19 in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe with attempted first-degree murder in Johns’ shooting and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly pointing the weapon at a second person. On Oct. 26, a district court judge in Santa Fe ordered Martinez held in jail pending trial.

His attorneys appealed the order Nov. 6 to the Court of Appeals, arguing that Martinez was peacefully attempting to get close to the statue when Johns and other protesters “physically accosted him, put him in a headlock, struck and battered him.”

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a response to the Court of Appeals arguing that Martinez arrived at the protest wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, and repeatedly “charged” toward a group of male protesters surrounding the pedestal, who pushed Martinez back.

When the men released Martinez, he jumped over a waist-high wall and pulled a concealed Glock 19 pistol, Torrez’s motion said. Martinez fired, striking Jacob, who suffered a collapsed lung and damage to other organs. Martinez then sped away in a Tesla and was later stopped by Pojoaque police, who found a second Glock pistol in the console.

Martinez’s attorneys argue that prosecutors presented a “false narrative” that portrayed Martinez as the aggressor and the anti-Oñate protesters as a peaceful group.

“We believe that the videos will show that Mr. Martinez was not being aggressive,” Moss said. “He was actually being rather calm and peaceful and respectful. There are actually multiple witnesses who say that Mr. Martinez just wanted to have his picture taken in front of the pedestal.”

Moss and her co-counsel, Marshall Ray, filed a motion last week seeking additional evidence from prosecutors that they say will show that the anti-Oñate protesters intended to halt the installation of the statue by “creating an unsafe environment for workers and observers.”