Inset: Chad Michael Martinez (Milwaukee County Jail). Background: The intersection where Martinez allegedly ran down his roommate (Google Maps).
A 54-year-old Wisconsin man is facing charges for allegedly killing his 50-year-old roommate by deliberately running him over with a pickup truck in broad daylight, dragging the victim’s body over 100 feet while numerous people watched.
Chad Michael Martinez was arrested earlier this month and is now charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide in the death of John Bacher, according to court documents.
The probable cause affidavit, as accessed by Law&Crime, details that on August 10 at approximately 5:15 p.m., Milwaukee Police Department officers responded to reports of a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle at the intersection of S. Muskego Avenue and W. Burnham Street. The reports indicated severe injuries.
Upon arrival, the officers found Bacher, who was being attended to by Milwaukee Fire Department medics. Unfortunately, Bacher was pronounced dead while en route to a nearby hospital.
A witness recounted to investigators that just before the incident, he was “riding his tricycle” nearby when he noticed a beige Ford F-150 pickup near the “El Jaliscience” car dealership, located about two blocks from the scene. The vehicle caught his attention due to his interest in purchasing one. The witness later saw the same truck again as the victim crossed Burnham Street on foot. The affidavit notes:
“[The witness] waited at the corner to cross the street and saw the F150 truck make a U-turn on Burnham St, traveling westbound towards Bacher. [The witness] noticed Bacher crossing the street when suddenly the F150 maneuvered around another vehicle, accelerating towards Bacher and intentionally struck him. [The witness] recognized the driver as the same person he had seen when the truck passed him earlier. [The witness] said the F150 didn’t stop after hitting Bacher, but instead continued with a ‘zig-zag’ motion, accelerating with Bacher trapped and dragging beneath until he was dislodged on the western side of the intersection. [The witness] observed the F150 driver appearing to target Bacher again, running him over once more before fleeing the scene westbound on Burnham St.”
Following the incident, the witness said Bacher remained in the street and was “badly mangled.”
Surveillance footage confirmed the witness’s account, with police saying “it was apparent” from the videos that Martinez “deliberately” targeted and intended to hit Bacher, whose body was found “more than 100 feet” from where the initial collision took place.
Police matched the dealer plates on the pickup truck to the “El Jaliscience” dealership and when they arrived at the address, they said they found the F-150 still running in the parking lot. Inside was a lone male — later identified as Martinez — in the driver’s seat with his head slumped back, eyes closed, and mouth open.
Officers said Martinez “had a strong odor of alcohol and an odor of urine emanating from his person” as he “stumbled” out of the car. A subsequent test allegedly showed he had a blood alcohol content of 0.215, nearly triple the limit to legal operate a motor vehicle.
The F-150 also had blood on the bumper that police said was “consistent with having run over a person.”
In an interview, Martinez said that Bacher was his roommate and colleague at the El Jaliscience dealership, and that the two had known each other for 25 years. He also claimed to have no memory of running Bacher down with the truck.
From the affidavit:
“Defendant stated he and Bacher were at work (at “El Jaliscience”) the night before (Saturday night, August 9 into August 10) and returned home around 9am on the morning of August 10. The Defendant stated he then fell asleep and woke up around 2:30pm and started drinking whiskey and thought he drank about a liter of whiskey. The Defendant stated that he and Bacher then went to Pick N Save near 76th & Cold Spring Road and then returned home at which time the Defendant drank more whiskey and passed out on the couch. The Defendant stated that the next thing he remembers is the police trying to get him to do field sobriety tests.”
A judge set Martinez’s bond at $250,000 cash and scheduled his preliminary hearing for the afternoon of Aug. 25, records show.
