Dec 27, 2024

Police ID two who died after shooting in Great Bend, high-speed chase

Posted Dec 27, 2024 10:30 PM
Photo by Mike Courson
Photo by Mike Courson

BARTON & STAFFORD COUNTIES – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating after a homicide, police pursuit, and apparent suicide took place in Barton and Stafford counties.

The Barton County Sheriff’s Office requested the KBI investigate on Friday, Dec. 27, around 10 a.m. KBI agents and the Crime Scene Response Team responded.

On Friday, at approximately 9:10 a.m., officers with the Great Bend Police Department were dispatched to 1516 7th St., in Great Bend on a disturbance call.

When officers arrived they learned from witnesses that Mario Martinez-Garcia, 32, entered the workplace of Esmeralda Torres-Lopez, 32, forcing her outside where he then shot her. EMS arrived on scene and transported Torres-Lopez to a local hospital. She sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at 9:55 a.m.

Preliminary information indicates that Martinez-Garcia fled the scene in a white 2021 Chevy Silverado. Nearby detectives from the Great Bend Police Department spotted the truck speeding away, and a vehicle pursuit ensued. Law enforcement from several additional agencies joined the pursuit. Law enforcement officers deployed a tire deflation device. Then a deputy from the Barton County Sheriff’s Office conducted a tactical vehicle intervention causing the pickup truck to leave the roadway and hit a barbed-wire fence. The truck came to rest in a field near mile marker 191 on Highway 50 in Stafford County.

Officers carefully approached the truck to gain sight of the driver. Martinez-Garcia was found deceased inside the truck. He had a gunshot wound to his head, and was holding a handgun. The coroner pronounced him dead on scene at 9:45 a.m.

No law enforcement officers were injured during the incident. Autopsies will be conducted.

The KBI will conduct a thorough investigation into these incidents. Once completed, findings will be presented to the Stafford County Attorney for review. The investigation is ongoing

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BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a deadly domestic incident that left two dead.

Just after 9 a.m., Friday, police were dispatched to a disturbance in the 1500 block of 7th Street in Great Bend, according to a media release.

While responding to the scene, law enforcement dispatch updated the call and advised that it was a domestic situation. When officers arrived, they located a female victim on the ground with an apparent gunshot wound. Officers also observed a white Chevrolet pickup leaving the scene at a high rate of speed.

Officers with the Great Bend Police Department and Deputies with the Barton County Sheriff's Office pursued the Chevrolet pickup southbound on U.S. 281 Hwy., into Stafford County.

Assisting Officers were able to successfully deploy stop sticks in Stafford County. The Chevrolet pickup continued west on U.S. 50 Hwy. where the driver lost control of the vehicle and it rolled over into a field.

Officers approached the Chevrolet pickup and located the driver and sole occupant deceased of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Great Bend Fire Department Ambulance transported the female victim to University of Kansas Health Systems Great Bend Campus, where she was pronounced deceased.

The names of the victim and suspect are not being released at this time, pending notification of family members.

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By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post

A shooting in Great Bend resulted in a high-speed chase through two counties early Friday morning. More information will be published as it becomes available.

Shortly after 9:15 a.m., Great Bend police were dispatched to an address in Great Bend. It was determined a victim at the address had been shot and a suspect vehicle fled the scene south out of Great Bend on U.S. 281 Highway.

The vehicle continued south, reaching speeds in excess of 90 miles an hour. In Stafford County, law enforcement deployed stopsticks to attempt to stop the vehicle. The driver continued south before turning west onto U.S. Highway 50. The vehicle crashed just west of Southwest 5th Avenue shortly before 9:40 a.m.

After a careful approach of the vehicle, law enforcement announced the driver of the vehicle was deceased.

Traffic on U.S. 50 Highway was opened to one lane just before 10 a.m.

This is a developing story. More details will be released as they become available.