PUEBLO, CO – Coloradan security guard, Solomon Martinez, 26, is facing first-degree murder charges after being apprehended with a severed hand in his coat pocket, the Pueblo police department reports. The arrest, which took place on January the 11th, came a day after a decapitated female body was discovered in a nearby creek.
Martinez initially caught the attention of law enforcement after his roommate reportedly found him at a local carwash, covered in dirt and blood, using a pressure washer to clean his hands, two days prior to his arrest. According to the affidavit obtained by the Pueblo Chieftain, he also requested the roommate to dig him a 10-foot hole. Officers were further alerted by the roommate’s discovery of Martinez struggling to retrieve tools from the trunk of his car, where “something big” was stored.
Confirming the roommate’s account, a friend of Martinez reported hearing him express the need to dig a deep hole and allegedly saw him dragging a woman’s body to the creek bed. Martinez had asked for his assistance in disposing of the body and used the threat of a gun to enforce cooperation. However, the friend refused to participate and took a video of the scene as a protective measure.
Law enforcement officials apprehended Martinez while working at a security guard company owned by Pueblo County’s former sheriff. According to arrest records, upon search, a human hand was found in a plastic bag in Martinez’s jacket. The security guard admitted to carrying it for two days.
Martinez had multiple cuts on his wrists and hands, which he first claimed were injuries caused by Chihuahuas, then said resulted from picking up small rocks after his dog. Moreover, Martinez’s vehicle was also found stained with blood.
Despite the evidence, Martinez tried to attribute the homicide to the friend. According to Martinez’s deposition, the friend had borrowed his vehicle, which had his gun and phone inside, and asked him to pick up the hand.
Facing law enforcement officials, he confessed his fears of what was potentially incriminating on his phone. Martinez is currently being held at the Pueblo County jail with a cash-only bond set at $1 million.