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Pueblo Police: Ax-wielding suspect dies after arrest

pueblo ax homicide Cropped

In a startling turn, the suspect arrested after allegedly going on an ax-wielding rampage Tuesday near Bessemer Park in Pueblo has died, police announced Friday.

Jacob Martinez, 34, was facing multiple felony charges for an alleged attack spree that started on Spruce Street Tuesday. Three people were injured, and one man was found dead in a lawn nearby. Martinez was considered the suspect in that homicide.

Martinez was taken into custody and was in "serious condition," police had previously reported, but it's unclear how he got those injuries. We know that he was being held by neighbors when officers arrived following the report of the attacks.

Friday, police said Martinez died at a local hospital. An autopsy by the county coroner's office is pending, according to PPD.

According to a news release from Pueblo police, the first attack happened around 5:27 p.m. near 1400 Spruce Street. Police say Martinez attacked the victim with an axe, and the victim sustained injuries.

Then at 8:15 p.m., officers went to the area of 1300 Lake Ave., just a few blocks away from Spruce Street, for a report of a man trying to stab a victim in their own doorway. Police say that victim wasn't seriously injured because a cell phone "prevented any penetrating injuries to him."

About 15 minutes later, police got another call back in the same block of Spruce Street, and neighbors were holding the suspect down on the ground after allegedly trying to attack a 75-year-old man in a wheelchair. Neighbors also alerted officers to the deceased man nearby, who was identified as 63-year-old Donald Ritchie.

The assaults and the homicide are still under investigation, and detectives say they're still gathering evidence.

We're working on getting more information. Check back for updates.

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Andrew McMillan

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