A probationer accused of forcing his way into a Moreno Valley home and confronting the owner and his family with a shotgun in an apparent ongoing feud was charged Wednesday with firearm assault.
Gerardo Martin, 49, of Moreno Valley was arrested Monday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation in the 16000 block of Kensington Place, near Parkside Lane.
Martin, who is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail at the Robert Presley Jail, was slated to make his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Alfredo Medina, at about 9:30 a.m. Monday, the defendant went to the home of an acquaintance, whose identity was not disclosed, to confront him about an unresolved dispute.
Martin was armed with a shotgun, and the victim and his family members fled from the Kensington Place residence fearing for their lives, Medina alleged.
Witnesses called 911, and patrol deputies reached the location within a few minutes, learning that “Gerardo was the sole occupant inside the residence,” and he was allegedly causing property damage, the sergeant said.
Deputies took the probationer into custody without incident.
No one was injured.
Medina said it was the second time in two days that the victim had been threatened by the defendant, though no further details were disclosed, including the origin of the feud.
Court records show that Martin has prior misdemeanor convictions for driving under the influence and reckless driving.