GALT, Calif. — A community near Galt is in shock after a man was arrested and accused of killing his mother.
29-year-old John Martinez was arrested Wednesday night after a long standoff with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
Not too many people knew the family who lived at the home off Alta Mesa Road. But they said they kept to themselves and never seemed to cause any issues.
The details of what happened left them in disbelief.
"First thing we noticed is a helicopter circling and then pretty soon we could hear them in the loudspeaker telling someone, John Martinez, come out with your hands up," said Ron Sherry, who is a nearby neighbor.
Sherry said he and his family saw when law enforcement surrounded their neighbor's home.
"When we got the call around 2:40 in the afternoon, a worker on the property on Alta Mesa saw a female lying down on the driveway, called the fire department to do kind of a welfare check on this person. Fire department arrived, saw very suspicious circumstances," said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, spokesperson for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
The woman was found in the driveway of the home and deputies were called to the scene. They confirmed the death was a homicide and that she had been hit in the face.
Her son, 29-year-old John Martinez, is accused of killing her.
"Pretty gruesome and horrific details. We learned that the adult son assaulted his mom, hit her with a shovel repeatedly. When she was down on the ground, tried to run her over with his car and then several times I guess tried to set her on fire but was never able to fully get that going," Sgt. Gandhi said.
Martinez then barricaded himself inside the home. It wasn't until 8:15 p.m. Wednesday that SWAT took him into custody.
The sheriff's office said the motive is unclear at this time. They confirmed the woman's husband is out of the country.
Neighbors are now trying to wrap their heads around what could have led to the violent killing.
"It's sad. I'd like to know the rest of the story. I'm not sure what prompted it. If it was drugs involved, if it was, I don't know, mental illness," said Karen Bora, a nearby neighbor.
The sheriff's office said Martinez has a limited criminal history. He was arrested back in 2018 for violating a restraining order. He is expected to make his first court appearance Friday.
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