Suspect arrested for attempted murder in May assault

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Sept. 21, 2017 – An armed suspect wanted in connection with an attempted murder in May and an additional assault in a separate jurisdiction was arrested Wednesday morning following a foot pursuit.

Redlands Police Gang Unit officers located 40-year-old Phillip Jesus Martinez shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, as he was walking in the 1400 block of Calhoun Street. Martinez was wanted in connection with the May 5 attempted murder of a 26-year-old Redlands man who was assaulted in the 200 block of Doyle Avenue. As officers attempted to contact Martinez he fled on foot, running through yards and jumping fences in an effort to escape.

As officers chased Martinez they observed his attempts to remove something from a bag he was carrying.

Martinez was eventually detained in the back yard of a residence in the 400 block of Emerald Avenue. Officers located the bag nearby and found a loaded handgun and methamphetamine inside the bag.

Martinez was transported to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga where he is being held on weapons and drug possession charges, participation in a criminal street gang and on a warrant from an outside jurisdiction. Additional charges will be forthcoming.

Another suspect in the May 5 assault, Robert Lawrence Carson, of Highland, was arrested on May 17. He is currently in custody at West Valley Detention Center.