The bond for Robert Martin has been set at $500,000 with two specific conditions. He cannot return to the neighborhood where the shooting happened & he must wear an ankle monitor.
Martin was arrested Tuesday night after a shooting on Belle Vue Dr. in Addis. It was the first shooting of 2022 for the city of Addis, according to Addis Police Chief Ricky Anderson.
READ NOW: ADDIS PD INVESTIGATING FIRST SHOOTING OF 2022
Chief Anderson said the shooting happened around 8pm and involved Leslie Gomez, 33, and Martin, 36. Police said the two got into an argument when Martin allegedly shot Gomez.
Martin’s wife provided more insight into what led up to the shooting saying it was self-defense.
“It was self-defense. I was attacked and they’re telling me I should have fought less,” said Brandy Martin, Robert Martin’s wife. “He (Les) started screaming in open air. My husband, kids and I are in the yard, in the garage. I had just finished mowing the lawn. The kids had just finished eating pizza. I sent them in the backyard to clean up there so I could go cut the grass. All of a sudden, there’s screaming and hollering. I turn around and see it’s Les. I told my husband, ‘We’re not getting involved.’ We go to the side of my garage to hide so he can’t see us because once he sees you, it’s on. Then I said, ‘I’m not going to hide in my own house. I said I’m going to cut the grass,’ and that’s when Les saw me. He started yelling at me ‘you fat b****, you *****”,’ and that’s when my husband stepped up to my defense. My kids came out of the backyard asking what was happening and I sent them back to the backyard.”
She went on to say, “Les had me pinned in my own garage. I finally break lose and my husband’s got a gun on him saying “get out of here.” I was going to find my phone to call 911 and what happened between my husband and Les, I don’t know, but I heard a ‘pop.’
However, according to West Baton Rouge officials, it is not self-defense.
“According to the DA and judge, you cannot claim self-defense once you retreat and then re-engage. When you retreat to safety, basically going in to get the gun, and then come back out with the gun, you can no longer claim self-defense,” said Chief Anderson.
Clayton said so far in the police department’s investigation, they have learned Martin went back in the home to get a gun. It’s why Clayton said self-defense does not apply in this case.
“It’s clearly not self-defense. When we say put the guns down, we weren’t just talking to our young folks. We were also talking to the adults. This is not the way to settle an argument,” said Clayton.
Martin fought back though saying it wasn’t about her husband’s self-defense. She said her husband was protecting her against Gomez.
“He was defending me. So my husband should have gone inside and left his wife and kids outside? We were attacked out of nowhere,” said Martin.
Martin said she is in the process of bonding her husband out now that the bond has been set. However, one of the conditions of the bond is that he cannot return to his own neighborhood where he lives. Martin said that would not be a problem because they were planning to move anyways.
Martin is charged with one count of attempt second-degree murder.
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