Police issue arrest warrant for suspect in shooting

37-year-old is accused of firing at man from vehicle in downtown S.F. Wednesday

Santa Fe police have issued an arrest warrant for Martin Flores, 37, accused of shooting another man as both drove on West Water Street late Wednesday night.

Flores is charged with aggravated battery and shooting at or from a motor vehicle, each a felony count, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court.

The charges came after the victim drove himself to the hospital, where nurses determined he had a gunshot wound to the left side of his torso, according to the affidavit. As the victim was being taken in for a CT scan, he told police a Martin Flores had shot him.

Investigators learned around 11 p.m. that several calls to emergency dispatch reported a blue pickup, later determined to be driven by Flores, had shot at a red Toyota sedan near the Coyote Cafe & Cantina, according to the affidavit.

When police spoke with the victim a second time, he told them he had been driving with Flores’ wife and brother when Flores pulled up next to him and shot him.

Witnesses told police they saw a blue Chevrolet truck with a male driver going the wrong way on Water Street heading toward a red Toyota sedan that had turned from Galisteo Street, the affidavit said.

When the two cars were next to each other, the red car began to back up as the blue truck drove up to the driver’s side window, according to the affidavit. Witnesses then heard a gunshot and saw both vehicles flee in opposite directions.

Police later found the red Toyota abandoned in an arroyo south of Old Santa Fe Trail and Old Las Vegas Highway. It contained a bottle of “alcohol” and a BB gun, the affidavit said. They also determined Flores is known to drive a blue Chevrolet truck.

The victim was taken to intensive care, where he was in stable condition, the affidavit said. As of Thursday night, Flores had not been apprehended.