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Denville cop fatally shoots suspect

By Paul Cox/The Star-Ledger

June 26, 2008, 5:12PM
Ruben Martinez, taken in his junior year of high school.

A man was fatally shot by police today in Denville during a chase that ended when he crashed into an above-ground swimming pool, authorities said.

Ruben Martinez, 21, was shot five times in a wooded neighborhood on Franklin Road, near Indian Lake, authorities said. His vehicle crashed through a picket fence and hurtled over a 4-foot wall before hitting the pool.


Morris County Prosecutor's detectives sift material removed from a storm sewer on Franklin Road near the scene of a police involved shooting.

The officer who shot Martinez, Richard Byrne, is a 14-year veteran of the Denville Police Department.

Byrne had tried to pull Martinez over for moving violations near the intersection of eastbound Route 46 and Franklin Road at 2:14 a.m., but Martinez fled, authorities said.

Byrne pursued him, firing the five the shots after a short chase, said Prosecutor Robert Bianchi All five shots struck Martinez as he fled in his car, Bianchi said.

Investigators set up a crime scene on Franklin Road, which is closed to traffic between Route 46 and North Shore Road.

A Denville police car is stopped on Franklin Road next to a vehicle covered by a yellow tarp. The covered car was being pursued by police early in the morning.

Martinez was the oldest of three boys and graduated from Morris Knolls High School in 2005, said his mother, Maureen Miles.

Martinez graduated from Lincoln Technical School in 2006 and moved to Laredo, Texas, about 18 months ago to work as an auto mechanic, his mother said.

He returned to New Jersey last week to attend his brother's graduation from Morris Knolls High School.

Grief counselors will be available to meet with students at the school today and Friday, Superintendent Ernest Palestis said.

Suspect is shot in Denville


Comments

 (364 total)     RSS
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32ford
Posted by 32ford
June 26, 2008, 9:50AM

Really good to hear considering I just moved my family to Denville.

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jbb123
Posted by jbb123
June 26, 2008, 9:56AM

Oh please, give me a break. Wait until the details come out. Don't be so dramatic.

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vaselinenj
Posted by vaselinenj
June 26, 2008, 10:02AM

Move back out. No one will care.

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nwrkpeaches
Posted by nwrkpeaches
June 26, 2008, 10:04AM

He probably didn't want to stop because he had seven dogs in his car.

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teznet
Posted by teznet
June 26, 2008, 10:10AM

I say good for the prosecutor for coming out with an investigation right away. We need more of this
njoversight.blogspot.com

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nygiant56
Posted by nygiant56
June 26, 2008, 10:18AM

The prosecutor always comes out right away to investigate when their is a fatality, police shooting involved or not.

And don't rush to judgment on the cops for shooting the guy until there is a story longer than 3 paragraphs, and actual details disclosed!

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dmcgee
Posted by dmcgee
June 26, 2008, 10:26AM

First of all - this all happened right up the street from me. The suspect was from Texas. He was doing 100 mph in a 25 mph zone. He grabbed a cop and dragged him. Cops shot! Good for them. For the person who just moved here, Denville's a great town. What happened is extremely unheard of in this town.

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dominick
Posted by dominick
June 26, 2008, 10:29AM


...And don't rush to judgment on the cops for shooting the guy until there is a story longer than 3 paragraphs, and actual details disclosed!...

Well put - especially when the source is this rag of a newspaper...

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quiettown
Posted by quiettown
June 26, 2008, 11:14AM

A few years back a prep tried to run a Denville cop down during a traffic stop on rt 80, and he met the same fate. I guess this texan didn't get the memo.

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cmcm415
Posted by cmcm415
June 26, 2008, 11:14AM

Actually this kid is from the area, he went to high school at Morris Knolls, he didn't just move here.

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quiettown
Posted by quiettown
June 26, 2008, 11:25AM

What is the age of the perp? I may know who it is.

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tinoski
Posted by tinoski
June 26, 2008, 11:26AM

A local kid made a poor decision and paid with his life. The cop should be fired because he can't be trusted with a gun. This is abuse of force. The kid was scared probably cause the cop was going to search his car. Cops in Denville search every kids car at that time of night. Shame Shame officer. Evil is as Evil does.

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giantsfan45
Posted by giantsfan45
June 26, 2008, 11:26AM

that "perp"was a 21 year old friend of mine from Rockaway who was a good kid, didn't see the need to take his life away, Denville pigs are going to have some explaining to do

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mnmz
Posted by mnmz
June 26, 2008, 11:37AM

If he was coming off of Rt. 46 that didn't give him much road to get his speed to 100 mph - especially if he was already stopped.

I feel bad for both the family of this young man and the police officer.

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dmcgee
Posted by dmcgee
June 26, 2008, 11:38AM

You people are nuts and should be ashamed bashing the cops! Nice kid or not, he was also driving 100 mph up MY street, evading the police. Then he grabbed a cop and tried dragging him. That's when they shot him. Denville has the finest cops around. I am very sorry the kid died, but you can't expect to do what he did and NOT be shot at.

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tinoski
Posted by tinoski
June 26, 2008, 11:43AM

I am sure the kid wasn't going 100 MPH. And he wasn't just shot at. He was killed. If he wasn't speeding that fast the cop would have never even gotten a shot off. Let alone a fatal one. The cop did a bad job, and should be disciplined. He killed a person he is paid to protect.

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dmcgee
Posted by dmcgee
June 26, 2008, 11:47AM

He was in a 25 mph zone going extremely fast - is that better? And the job of the police is to protect and serve. They have to protect the public from people who are evading police, speeding down small side streets and dragging police officers!!!

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jc1211
Posted by jc1211
June 26, 2008, 11:49AM

"Killed a person he is paid to protect" -- sounds to me like he was protecting other, innocent people from this kid. On the couple of occasions that I have been stopped by the police (for doing 42 in a 25), I stop. And I stay stopped until it's time to go. And I don't want to hear all the crap about how the kid was probably afraid -- if he wasn't doing anything wrong, he had nothing to fear. My sympathies to the officer.

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dmcgee
Posted by dmcgee
June 26, 2008, 11:51AM

Sorry, but I checked his myspace page. He didn't seem to be very "upstanding". I don't ever speak ill of the dead, but I feel I must defend the police on this one.

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quiettown
Posted by quiettown
June 26, 2008, 11:53AM

The perps name is Ruben Martinez. If the use of force was excessive, then the officers will be held accountable. WAIT FOR THE FACTS.

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