ALTUS (OK) – According to Altus (OK) Police, a man caught on video surveillance early Wednesday morning, shortly before 3 AM, breaking the windshield of an Altus patrol car and damaging an electronic keypad at the back door to the police department, was found deceased in his home Thursday morning, in the 900 block of S. Kennedy.
Police Chief Tim Murphy said that video shows that after parking his red Chevrolet pickup in the front area of the City Complex early Wednesday morning, a man is seen walking to the rear of the Altus City Complex and is seen carrying a baseball bat. This area is reserved for police personnel parking.
The suspect wanders and loiters around the parking lot, looking at parked patrol cars. The suspect targets one patrol car by breaking the windshield and then damages the electronic keypad.
Murphy said the video shows the suspect standing by the door of the police department for several minutes and then finally leaves.
He is seen walking back to his vehicle and exits the front parking area of the City Complex.
On Wednesday morning a patrol officer spotted a pickup, matching the description of the vehicle on video, parked in the driveway at a home on S. Kennedy.
A baseball bat, walking cane and clothing were seized during the execution of a search warrant from the pickup and which was consistent with the suspect description seen on video from Early Wednesday morning.
Murphy said police were unable to make contact with the man while at the home, and on Thursday morning, investigators returned to the home and discovered Aureliano Martinez, 66, deceased, while conducting a welfare check at the home.
His body has been transported to the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office in OKC for an autopsy and to determine a manner and cause of death.
Police are unsure of the motive behind the suspects actions, which were captured on video but do believe Martinez is the person responsible for the attempted breach at the police department and the damage to the patrol car.