The names of two Great Bend men arrested Friday in connection with recent shootings were released Tuesday, when Barton County Jail logs became available.
Nelson Martinez and Jose Torres Jr. were each booked on five counts of attempted first degree murder and aggravated burglary. Bond for each was set at $750,000.
Torres, 32, was also the victim of an attempted murder on Jan. 31, 2013. He was treated for what police described as a minor gunshot wound to the face, during an attack at his residence in the 1400 block of Adams St. He was placed in Central Kansas Community Corrections last November, for drug possession and aggravated assault charges last year.
The charges against Torres and Martinez stem from last Wednesday, Jan. 15, when police were called to 1411 1/2 2nd St. for a reported shooting just before 8 p.m. Three victims were taken from the house with gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening.
According to Great Bend police, Hope Huslig, 23, of Great Bend was later flown to Wichita Wesley Hospital with non-life threatening wounds to her chest and shoulder area. Larry Norman, 30, Great Bend, and Saedra Walters, 20, Larned, were treated for pellet wounds and released from GBRH.
Although the victims were reluctant to cooperate with police, they said they were inside the residence when the shooter or shooters knocked on the door and attempted to enter.
On Friday, police arrested Torres and Martinez, one in the 2200 block of 29th St. and one in the 1000 block of Grant St. They also located and interviewed two more shooting victims “who did not want to be located,” according to reports. They were identified as Amy Melton, who had been treated and released for a wound to a leg, and Robert Cash Scheuerman, who was sent to Wichita by ground ambulance to be treated for gunshot wounds to an arm and to the stomach area.
Even before suspects were arrested, Police Chief Dean Akings said the authorities did not believe this was a random crime, although they didn’t have a motive. They were assisted in their investigation by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Barton County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation is continuing and anyone with information is asked to call the police department, 620-793-4120, or Crime Stoppers, 792-1300 or 888-305-1300.