CASPER — Three local men face felony charges after using a stone to smash the bedroom window of an apartment to break in Sunday and steal an AR-15 style rifle, silver Ruger .45-caliber handgun and airsoft pistols.
Daiyne Raympnd Martinez, 19, and Jayden Ashton Bennett, 18, of Casper are charged with aggravated burglary, while Izziah James Douglass is charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary. Martinez and Bennett also face misdemeanor drug charges.
Arrest affidavits filed in the case show the Casper Police Department was called to the 2500 block of South Jefferson Street at 1:41 a.m. Sunday for a report that “someone’s house was getting robbed.”
The caller told police dispatch that after hearing a window break, two people in black had entered the apartment and were walking around “looking suspicious.”
They left the area in a white Nissan Titan, according to court documents. But a Casper police officer saw the car and stopped it at the intersection of East 17th Street and South McKinley.
Douglass was driving, Bennett was in the front passenger seat, Martinez behind the driver and a fourth passenger currently not charged behind Bennett, according to the affidavit.
Where’d They Come From?
The arrest affidavit states the men were ordered out of the vehicle and a search of it found a Ruger .45-caliber pistol with the serial number partially scratched off, two Glock-style airsoft pistols, a SIG 365 airsoft pistol and two AR-15 style rifles. One pistol was underneath Martinez on the seat and one underneath Bennett. The rifles were in the back seat on the floor.
Officers also found a black bag with Bennett’s ID in it and nine rubber jars with about 1 gram each of marijuana wax, the affidavit says.
The resident of the burglarized apartment told police he was missing an AR-15 and several BB or airsoft guns, according to court records.
Court records show a search of Martinez also found 9mm ammunition that he said he had stolen from Sportsman’s Warehouse four or five months earlier.
Martinez allegedly told police he did not know the pistol he was sitting on was in the vehicle and “did not know where the firearms came from.”
Interviews separately with the men pieced together that they were at a bonfire in Midwest and were told it was time to leave. Douglass told police he was at the bonfire with a friend, and Martinez and Bennett were flashing pistols at the bonfire and asked him for a ride home. Douglass said he found some brass knuckles at the bonfire and took them, court records say.
“Bennett told Douglass he needed to stop at (the victim’s) house to trade a red-laser sight for an AR-15,” according to the affidavit. The quartet stopped, and Martinez and Bennett came back with the weapon.
Decision To Steal Weapons
They then went to an ATM and “Martinez and Bennett decided they wanted to go back to (the victim’s) house to steal the rest of his guns, court records state.
A text exchange on Bennett’s phone shows that Bennett had traded the victim for a gun. He then texted the apartment owner to ensure he would not be home and gave text information indicating he was going to Mills to drop off the gun, but intended to go back to the victim’s apartment, court records state.
Bennett told police once back outside the apartment he knew the weapons would be in the victim’s bedroom.
“Martinez grabbed a rock and broke the window” and once inside Bennett took the other AR-15 while Martinez stole pistols, including a Glock with a flashlight and silver pistols,” according to court documents.
Back in the vehicle, Martinez was “checking out the pistols and cocked one,” court documents state.
That’s when police showed up behind their car, court records state.
Footwear Impressions
Footwear impressions around the burglarized residence showed tread-wear patterns for shoes owned by Martinez and Bennett, the affidavit says.
The aggravated burglary charge for all three defendants carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a fine of not more than $50,000 or both.
Martinez also faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of cocaine, punishable by up to a year in jail and $1,000 fine or both.
Bennett faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana, punishable by up to a year in jail and $1,000 fine or both.
All three men remain in the Natrona County jail each on $50,000 cash or surety bond.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
