Two teens have died, one of whom has been identified by his family as Jerrad Wallace, eighteen, seen here. We've got the latest about this terrible crime, including details, photos and video.
The Facebook page for Jerrad, nicknamed "Smugg," is frozen in time, with plenty of photos showing him having a good time, including this one....
...and this one: Understandably, the page of his beloved sister, Daniella, is infinitely more somber. Underneath a profile photo of them together.... ...are messages of deep sorrow, including this one: "Jerrad Wallace, we love you so much and always will! You are now with me and everyone always. Rest peacefully."What are the circumstances that led to Jerrad's death? Commander Jeff Satur, spokesman for the Longmont Police Department, fills us in.
"About 2:07 in the morning on Sunday, officers and fire department personnel were dispatched to 712 Francis Street on a report of a stabbing," Satur says."When they got there," he goes on, "they found three people stabbed. One of them" -- a nineteen year old who hasn't been named at this writing -- "was deceased and the other two were in bad condition. They were transported to Longmont United Hospital, where one of the individuals went into surgery immediately. The other one had to go to surgery, and then he had to go back a second time."
The latter person, age seventeen, "is doing better right now," Satur notes. However, he reveals that the other hospitalized person -- Wallace -- was placed in a medically induced coma. And he never regained consciousness.
Continue for more about the house-party homicides in Longmont, including additional photos and a video. Meanwhile, back at the house, "we got the people out and started the investigation," Satur says. "The essential information we got is that they were hosting a party. There were about twenty kids from the ages of sixteen to 21, and they were smoking marijuana, there may have been some other drug use, and they were drinking alcohol, beer and whiskey."Everything was fine for a while -- "but then, there was an argument, and that argument continued outside," Satur allows. "That's when the stabbings occurred, and the suspect," Martinez, "fled the scene. But we arrested him at 3:48 a.m. at a Walmart out on Highway 119, about five miles away. We knew from our investigation that he left the party and went to a 7-Eleven, where he called a relative. And he was going to meet that relative out by the Walmart when we arrested him."
According to Satur, Martinez was an acquaintance of some at the party. Satur believes he'd been there "for at least an hour, an hour and a half." When asked if Martinez had a prior criminal record, he'll only say that "he was familiar to our officers at the police department."
The murder weapon wasn't immediately found, but 9News reports that a knife thought to have killed Wallace and the other teen was located yesterday in a yard not far from 712 Francis.
Despite this evidence, and a plethora of witnesses, the LPD still encourages anyone with information about the crime to phone the department at 303-651-8501 or Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Look below to see Martinez's booking photo, followed by a 9News report featuring Daniella. Our condolences to her and the rest of the two victims' friends, family and loved ones.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
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