Wichita man charged with murder in fatal hotel shooting over failed CashApp payment
A Wichita man accused of killing another man at an east Wichita hotel because he was upset that a $60 CashApp payment to settle a drug debt didn’t go through has been formally charged with first-degree felony murder, attempted distribution of methamphetamine and criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, according to court records.
Patricio S. Gomez, who was captured in March by U.S. Border Patrol agents after his truck got stuck in the Rio Grande River along the Texas-Mexico border, made a first appearance in Sedgwick County District Court on Friday afternoon.
He was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on Thursday after authorities extradited him from Texas to face charges in the Sept. 30, 2021, slaying of 42-year-old Michael R. Martinez, who was shot several times in Room 207 of the Extended Stay America at 9450 E. Corporate Hills Drive.
A probable cause affidavit released by a Sedgwick County judge earlier this year says Gomez had gone to the room with a woman and opened fire on Martinez after an electronic payment he attempted to make using his cellphone failed.
Gomez had been on the run since the evening of the shooting. But he was arrested after border patrol agents saw him walking along a border barrier on March 28.
He told the agents that he was a U.S. citizen who had just re-entered the states by driving his truck through the river, according to a March 30 news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. An investigation into his background revealed the Wichita homicide warrant.
Gomez, 32, on Friday was being held in the Sedgwick County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond. His next court date is April 25, the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office said by email.
The woman whom police say accompanied Gomez to the hotel, 36-year-old Shae M. Roberts, is also charged with first-degree felony murder and a drug crime in connection with Martinez’s death. Her trial is scheduled for July. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 4:23 PM.
