Dispute over reckless driving in Monterey County leads to shooting; suspect arrested

A man who was challenged about reckless driving in Monterey County over the weekend opened fire on the person confronting him about it and was later arrested on attempted murder and other charges.

The incident happened on Sunday evening at about 8:12 p.m. on Madison Lane in an industrial area of unincorporated Salinas just west of N. Davis Road. The Monterey County Sheriff's Office said in a press release that the victim told deputies that he confronted the driver of a black BMW sedan without license plates who was recklessly driving in the neighborhood. 

The victim reported that during the confrontation, the driver brandished a handgun and then fled the area, only to return about five minutes later, threatening to "mow down" the victim and firing about three rounds in his direction before fleeing again, the sheriff's office said. The bullets hit a pickup truck where the victim had taken cover, and he was not injured.

The Sheriff's Office identified the suspect as Santiago Martinez-Amaro, and his vehicle was located within minutes, heading east on Calle del Adobe east of Boronda Road. Deputies pulled him over in the parking lot of an IHOP restaurant at Calle del Adobe and N. Davis Road, and he and a passenger were both taken into custody, the office said.

A search of the BMW yielded several spent .45 caliber casings and an unregistered .45 caliber handgun, the office said.

Martinez-Amaro was booked into the Monterey County Jail on charges of attempted murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, criminal threats, DUI, and other gun charges. He is being held on $1.16 million bail, according to jail records.

There was no word on any charges against the passenger in the vehicle.