18-year-old charged in fatal shooting at Colorado Springs car meet-up
Surveillance footage helped lead police to a teenager charged in the shooting death of another teen during a car meet-up in Colorado Springs, according to a partially redacted arrest affidavit obtained by The Gazette.
Jericho Martinez, 18, faces several charges, including first-degree murder, after prosecutors say he fired 12 rounds in a parking lot in the 2800 block of Powers Boulevard on April 26, injuring two people and killing 19-year-old Cortez Mason Jr.
Witnesses told investigators that three cars arrived with “numerous” teenagers to drink alcohol in the lot and show off firearms, according to court documents.
One witness alleges that the interaction became tense when the group surrounded one person and someone said, “You guys got guns, might as well use them,” the affidavit states.
Someone then fired shots into the air before shots were fired into the crowd of about 10 people, causing them to scatter.
Martinez, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was identified as the shooter by several of the similarly aged witnesses and victims. A witness claimed Martinez accidentally shot one of the victims while aiming for another person, but it is unclear who that was.
Surveillance footage from neighboring businesses helped investigators determine that Martinez fired the gun, according to the affidavit.
Police arrested Martinez on May 14 and booked him into a juvenile detention facility. He was transferred to the El Paso County jail on June 12, his 18th birthday.
Court and jail records indicate Martinez is still in custody without a set bond amount. He is set to appear in an El Paso County courtroom on Aug. 27 alongside two juvenile cases.
A spokesperson with Colorado Springs police declined to provide Martinez’s mugshot, citing state statute that limits the release of information for a defendant who was a juvenile at the time of the offense.





