Man charged with capital murder in Gentry restaurant shooting

BENTONVILLE — Prosecutors have formally charged a man with killing a co-worker at a Gentry restaurant.

Martin E. Tavarez-Torres is charged with capital murder. Prosecutors filed the criminal information against him Friday.

If convicted of the charge, he’ll be sentenced to death or life in prison without the benefit of parole. He was being held Friday without bail in the Benton County jail.

Tavarez-Torres, 21, is accused of acting with premeditation and deliberation in causing the death of Fidel Mercado Reyes.

Reyes was pronounced dead Nov. 10 at Siloam Springs Regional Hospital. He was shot once in the back of his head, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Reyes was a cook at La Huerta in Gentry. Police were called to the restaurant at 129 Fowler St. in response to the shooting. The restaurant staff told police the shooter was the nephew of the restaurant’s owner and had started working there that week, according to the affidavit.

Another employee at the restaurant told police she heard what sounded like an explosion in the kitchen, according to the affidavit. She said Tavarez-Torres ran past her and out the door and then she saw Reyes lying on the floor, according to the affidavit.

Tavarez-Torres fled the scene in his pickup. He was arrested in Fayetteville after police learned his brother lived there, according to the affidavit.

Marlenne Navarette-Flores, Reyes’ sister-inlaw, told police she believed the shooting may have been over a slot-machine ticket Reyes won at Cherokee Casino in West Siloam Springs, Okla., according to the affidavit. She and her husband, Victor Mercado Reyes, believed the ticket to be worth $20,000 or $200,000 because the ticket was worth 200,000 credits, according to the affidavit.

Victor Reyes told police his brother attempted to redeem the ticket at the casino but was denied because his passport had expired. Police found the winning ticket in Fidel Reyes’ jacket, which was at the restaurant, according to the affidavit.

Victor Reyes told police his brother was trying to help a new employee by allowing him to stay at his home and the two went to work together in Tavarez-Torres’ pickup, according to the affidavit.

Tavarez-Torres’ arraignment is scheduled for 8 a.m. Jan. 20 in Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green’s courtroom.