Hurst man says he killed burglar who tried to run him over. Cops say it was murder.
Kevin James Hamilton told Hurst police he shot and killed James Martinez of Irving last month because the suspected burglar tried to run Hamilton over with a car.
But video from Hamilton’s doorbell camera showed that the 48-year-old Hurst man never stood in front of Martinez’s car, but fired at the the Irving man several times as he stood to the side of the car, according to a warrant.
Hamilton picked up the casings and never called Hurst police on the morning of Nov. 28, according to the warrant obtained Tuesday by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Hamilton was later arrested and accused in Martinez’s shooting death.
The Hurst man was charged Friday with tampering with physical evidence, according to Tarrant County criminal court records, and he was charged with murder on Wednesday.
One of the warrants issued for Hamilton was on suspicion of murder, and the other was for tampering with physical evidence.
Hamilton was free Wednesday in lieu of $2,500 bail.
Hamilton’s defense attorneys, Christy Jack and Benson Varghese, both of Fort Worth, said Hamilton, who is licensed to carry, is the type of person anyone would be proud to call a friend, neighbor or colleague.
“He was home alone on a Saturday morning, shoeless and still in his pajamas when he discovered a stranger burglarizing his Ford F-250 pickup,” Varghese and Jack said in a statement released Wednesday. “As he attempted to detain the suspect, he feared he would be struck by the suspect’s fleeing vehicle.”
The attorneys said the case was self-defense and the right of a homeowner to protect his home, property and life.
“He is extremely remorseful regarding the loss of life even though the shooting was justified under Texas law,” the attorneys’ statement said. “We are confident he will be completely exonerated of all charges.”
The warrants written by Hurst Detective J. Hobbs gave this brief account of the shooting:
Shortly after 9 a.m. on Nov. 28, Hamilton was watching television when he heard the sound of a tool making noise like a saw outside at the front of his Hurst home.
He looked outside, saw a man under his 2001 Ford F-250 pickup truck, and realized was trying to steal his catalytic converter by cutting it off.
Hamilton told Hurst detectives he ran to his couch, grabbed a .45-caliber handgun he kept in the cushions, and ran outside.
By this time, the man later identified as James Martinez had run to his car and got inside.
Hamilton told Hurst police he ran to the front of the car and pointed his handgun at Martinez. Hamilton said he could not remember if any words were exchanged and said he didn’t see Martinez with any tools.
Hamilton later told a Hurst detective that his intent was to detain Martinez, but the car moved forward toward him and he believed Martinez was going to run over him.
The Hurst man said he had to move out of the way, but he fired three shots at Martinez. Hamilton walked back to his porch, set his handgun down and sat down because he was shaken up, he told police.
Martinez’s car traveled a short distance before it stopped in the 1600 block of Eastridge Court in Hurst. When they arrived, police found Martinez unconscious and his car had bullet holes. An electric saw was near Martinez’s body.
Martinez was taken to John Peter Smith in Fort Worth, where he died from a gunshot wound to his back, according to officials with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
A driver reported he heard the gunshots and saw a man in a robe in the middle of the street with a handgun. He told Hurst police that a car moved slowly in front of him and he could see the holes from gunshots.
Hamilton went back inside of his home to put on jeans since he was in his pajamas, came back out of his home and sat down.
Seconds later, Hamilton walked over to his truck to see if his catalytic converter had been stolen and he picked up the three casings, telling Hurst police he did that because kids lived in the neighborhood.
Hamilton flagged down police only after officers were in the neighborhood investigating the shooting, according to the warrant.
As Hamilton was being interviewed, Hurst police observed that Hamilton had a doorbell camera on his front door and officers asked if they could view the video. Hamilton agreed, according to the warrant.
The video showed Hamilton run out his front door with his handgun and go toward his pickup truck. Officers observed a man who appeared to be Martinez under the truck, and saw him get up, walk to his car and get inside of the vehicle.
Hurst police heard the gunshots on the video, but they could not hear if Hamilton said anything.
In the video, Hamilton ran toward the car, stood near it and fired one shot towards the front windshield of the car, according to the warrant. As the car continued to move forward, Hamilton moved alongside it and shot into the driver’s window and the back passenger window.
Hurst police never saw Hamilton standing in front of the car in the video, according to the warrant.
When asked about his thoughts after he fired three shots, Hamilton told police he was trying to protect himself, the warrant says.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 11:32 AM.
