Suspect in West Asheville Murder: Pipe and Gun Used Before Fleeing to Indiana?
ASHEVILLE — According to recently disclosed data, during a September 2023 shooting in West Asheville, an assailant with a metal pipe blasted through a home’s wooden door before fleeing to Indiana, where he was apprehended by the state’s highway patrol.
Ismael Nazario Muñoz, 37, and his roommate were at their home on Oakview Road on September 2 when the roommate saw an “angry” guy approach Muñoz with a metal pipe, according to his death investigation report.
“As the decedent attempted to close an outside wooden door to the individual, the individual fired into the door itself with a pistol,” according to the report. “After the decedent fell to the ground in the doorway, the individual fired additional shots into the decedent.”
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Two people called 911 at 11:41 a.m., one requesting police and an ambulance, according to officer response notes. A caller stated that the guy arrived and then left in a Ford Mustang. The notes state that around 12 bullets were fired from a black handgun with a lengthy magazine. Muñoz’s autopsy and the investigative report revealed multiple gunshot wounds to his head, chest, left arm, and leg, as well as seven holes in the door. He also suffered physical damage, which included a laceration on his chin.
Bullet shells from a 9 mm handgun were discovered at the scene, according to sources.
After Asheville police arrived at 11:49 a.m., a witness offered a photo of the suspect’s vehicle and tag, which was registered in Tennessee, according to the officer’s notes.
About 20 minutes later, a Ford Mustang and a person who appeared to match the suspect’s description were observed at a Shell station on Smokey Park Highway before continuing westbound. According to the Citizen-Times, APD was actively tracking the suspect, Arturo Cordero Martinez, 47, on his phone. Sgt. Charles Wells contacted Indiana State Police Trooper Connor Giesler to aid with the arrest, stating that the subject was driving from Asheville to Colorado in a 2001 Ford Mustang.
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According to an affidavit acquired by the Citizen-Times, ISP troopers stopped Martinez’s vehicle as it drove west on Interstate 64 in the early afternoon of September 2. He was apprehended “without incident,” and was in possession of a black Taurus-brand 9mm pistol, a spent 9 mm cartridge, brass knuckles, and other stuff.
Martinez was then extradited back to Asheville, where he sits in the Buncombe County Detention Facility on no bond. Martinez was indicted in Buncombe County Superior Court on a first-degree murder allegation on February 5, court records show.
Martinez was living in Asheville at the time of the incident, according to Beth Schroeder, the Dubois County prosecutor who arrested Martinez.
The Citizen-Times contacted Martinez’s attorney for comment.
According to a prior news release from Asheville police, Muñoz died at his apartment before being transferred to the hospital by Buncombe County EMS. The medical examiner arrived at the scene shortly after 6 p.m. and demanded that the body be transferred.
According to his death certificate, the 37-year-old worked in construction and was with a significant other. Muñoz was buried in a cemetery in San Pedro, Mexico. The Citizen-Times sought to contact his family members.