Aberdeen man charged after allegedly pulling gun on family during road altercation
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POWER COUNTY — A man police say brandished what victims believed to be a gun — which was later discovered to be a BB gun — faces a felony charge.
Joel Daniel Tarango Martinez, 19, has been charged with one count of aggravated assault with a threat to cause great bodily harm, court records show.
Power County sheriff’s deputies responded to a call reporting an incident involving a gun around 3:45 p.m. on Feb 17, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The caller said he and his children were driving on East County Road, from Pocatello to Aberdeen, when a man he knew to be Tarango Martinez cut him off and pointed a gun at him. Deputies spoke with the children, who told them they saw the gun.
The victim told deputies Tarango Martinez was driving a grey Jeep Cherokee at the time of the incident.
Deputies went to the address listed as Tarango Martinez’s home, in Bingham County, and saw a Jeep matching the description provided by the victim. A deputy from Bingham County, who was assisting in the investigation, informed Power County deputies that Tarango Martinez is known to be “not law enforcement friendly,” the affidavit says, so additional assistance was requested.
Bingham and Power county deputies took Tarango Martinez into custody without incident.
Deputies then searched the home and found a gun matching the description provided by the victims — a black semiautomatic pistol. Deputies determined the pistol to be a BB gun, according to the affidavit.
Tarango Martinez told deputies he was in Pocatello when the victim approached him and tried to start a fight, the affidavit says. He said he avoided an altercation and left the area.
Deputies asked Tarango Martinez what happened between he and the victim on East County Road. Tarango Martinez told deputies he had not been on East County Road. He added he carries the BB gun with him to shoot birds while he is working.
The deputies spoke with a witness, who was present throughout the incident.
She said that she was with Tarango Martinez earlier in the day but asked the victim for a ride back to Aberdeen. The witness said Tarango Martinez saw her get into the victim’s car and was upset, so Tarango Martinez pursued the victim’s car.
The witness said Tarango Martinez followed the victim’s car to East County Road, where the victim stopped. When deputies asked if Tarango Martinez brandished a gun, she allegedly told the deputies she knew Tarango Martinez to carry a BB gun but did not see it during the altercation.
Deputies placed Tarango Martinez under arrest.
Though Tarango Martinez has been charged with this crime, it does not necessarily mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If he is found guilty, Tarango Martinez could face up to five years in prison.