Man charged with fatal W. Asheville shooting extradited from Indiana; arrest detailed

ASHEVILLE – A 47-year-old murder suspect in a Sept. 2 West Asheville shooting that left one man dead is now in custody in the Buncombe County Detention Facility after being extradited Sept. 14 from the Dubois County Jail in Indiana.

After Asheville Police Department officers responded to reports of shots being fired just before noon on Sept. 2, they discovered Ismael Munoz, 37, with several gunshot wounds in a residence on East Oakview Road, according to an APD news release. Munoz died from his wounds before Buncombe County EMS could transfer him to the hospital.

Arturo Cordero Martinez, 47, was charged with first-degree murder following the results of a search warrant executed on the scene by Criminal Investigations Division detectives and forensic technicians, according to the news release. However, Martinez fled the state before being arrested.

Asheville Police Department Sgt. Charles Wells contacted Indiana State Police Trooper Connor Giesler to assist in apprehending Martinez, informing Geiser that the suspect was traveling from Asheville to Colorado in a 2001 Ford Mustang bearing a Tennessee license plate, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Citizen Times Sept. 14. Martinez’s phone was “actively being tracked by Asheville PD,” according to the affidavit.

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ISP troopers were informed the suspect’s vehicle was traveling west on Interstate 64 near the 115-mile marker in the early afternoon hours of Sept. 2, according to a news release from ISP.

Giesler located Martinez’s vehicle on I-64 and conducted a traffic stop, taking Martinez into custody “without incident,” according to the news release. During his arrest, ISP troopers believed Martinez was driving while intoxicated, without an operator’s license and while in possession of cocaine.

After ISP troopers took Martinez into custody, he admitted to Trooper Villanueva “that he had used cocaine approximately 30 minutes prior to being stopped,” according to the affidavit.

In addition to the first-degree murder warrant out of Asheville, Martinez was taken to the Dubois County Security Center and processed on the charges of possession of cocaine, operating a motor vehicle without a license and three counts of operating while intoxicated, including a charge of having a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.

However, Dubois County Prosecutor Beth Schroeder informed the Citizen Times that she will not be filing these additional charges against Martinez.

“I am not filing charges on him because I do not want him here,” Schroeder said. “They are taking him back to North Carolina on his murder warrant. … There’s nothing wrong with those charges, I just don’t want him being tied to Dubois County. He can go back to where he came from.”

Schroeder said she could file the charges in the future if issues arise, but she doesn’t plan to right now. She said Martinez will be extradited to Asheville in the “very near future,” but didn’t give an exact date due to security concerns.

Aaron Sarver, spokesperson for the Buncombe County Sheriff Office, confirmed Sept. 14 that Martinez is listed on the inmate log, meaning he is currently being held in the Buncombe County Detention Facility.

Martinez was living in Asheville at the time of the shooting, according to Schroeder.

Asheville police have not responded to multiple questions on whether Martinez or Munoz lived at the address where the shooting took place or if the two men knew each other.

When ISP troopers arrested Martinez, the following items were found in his vehicle, according to the affidavit:

• A black Taurus-brand 9mm pistol.
• A black Taurus-brand 9mm pistol magazine.
• A spent 9mm cartridge.
• Brass knuckles.
• A blue Motorola-brand cellphone.
• A small plastic bag containing a powder substance that field tested positive for cocaine.

Martinez has an add-on court date of Sept. 14, according to an online jail database.

Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. News tips? Email Ryley at rober@gannett.com. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.