WILMINGTON — Police have arrested a 22-year-old Wallace man in a shooting that left one person injured over the weekend in a downtown parking deck. An ICE detainer also has been filed in the case.
22-year-old Rafael Martinez has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. According to Wilmington Police Department, Martinez is responsible for shooting 26-year-old David Corpus in a parking deck in the 100 block of Market Street early Sunday morning. Corpus was transported to Novant Health NHRMC with serious injuries but is in stable condition.
The suspect is being held at the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center with a $300,000 secured bond.
The warrant for Martinez’s arrest was issued on March 8, according to court documents. Also included and signed by Republican District Court Judge for the 5th Judicial District, Lindsey McKee, are stipulations for releasing the suspect, who the judge could not verify is a documented U.S. citizen.
McKee’s notes indicate: “def is not a legal res/ICE proceedings have been initiated.”
According to the court, within the last decade, Martinez has been convicted of three or more other offenses — class 1 misdemeanors or higher.
An “Order After Receipt of ICE Detainer and Administrative Warrant” has been filed, which requires the detention center hold Martinez and release him only under three circumstances:
- At least 48 hours after he has posted bond or is scheduled to be released
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United States Department of Homeland Security takes custody and transfers him to an officer of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United States Department of Homeland Security upon that officer’s appearance at the facility and request for custody
- ICE and the United States Department of Homeland Security rescinds the detainer
The case is already receiving attention due to a separate shooting that took place at the parking deck and was turned over to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to probe. A person died at the scene early Sunday morning, due to officer-involved gunfire that erupted in the aftermath, as police attempted to detain a different suspect, 21-year-old Edilberto Espinoza Sierra.
Upon law enforcement approaching his car, Sierra fled, with officers chasing after the vehicle in the parking deck. Sierra eventually struck another vehicle and “narrowly missed” police, WPD reported; thus, law enforcement responded with gunfire to thwart more harm possibly inflicted upon others waiting to exit the parking deck.
Sierra’s family held a protest in downtown Wilmington on Tuesday morning, requesting transparency and justice in holding law enforcement accountable for their loved one’s death. They claimed Edilberto Sierra was unarmed and attempted escape due to fear. According to his sister, he had been injured in a separate physical altercation, stemming from a personal dispute involving a woman, which took place shortly before police arrived.
The family also said they weren’t properly notified of the incident. Rather, they found out after tracking his phone to the parking garage on Sunday morning, where they allegedly learned about Sierra’s death from an officer on the scene.
“They didn’t tell us when they brought him to the morgue, they didn’t tell us when he died, they didn’t tell us the time of death, they didn’t tell us that the police shot him. We had to find that out from the news,” Sierra’s sister, Genesis, told Port City Daily Tuesday.
Two officers from the Wilmington Police Department and one deputy from the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office have been put on paid administrative leave — standard protocol when law enforcement officers discharge their weapons. The SBI’s investigation results will be turned over to the district attorney’s office to determine whether the use of lethal force was justified against Sierra.
The DA’s office also has supported a motion to seal all 911 recordings, radio communication and other information or records regarding the March 8 shooting for addresses at 115 Market Street, North Front Street or South Second Street. It was made at the request of the City of Wilmington, on behalf of the Wilmington Police Department and New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. The DA noted the information may be used at trial.
“After reviewing the motion,” documents detail, pointing to state statute 132.1.4, “it appears to the Court that release of the Records will undermine an ongoing or future investigation, jeopardize the right of the State to prosecute the defendant in this County and the right of a defendant to receive a fair trial in this County.”
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