AULT, Colo. — A Greeley man is expected to die any day because of a fight over a parking spot. Mateo Martinez, 55, left a nursing home Tuesday night to spend his final days surrounded by family and his beloved dog.
Martinez suffered a serious brain injury after a fight Oct. 2 in Ault, about 80 minutes northeast of Denver.
He had just parked his car on a residential street so he could watch his teenage daughter who was cheerleading at the high school football game across the street.
Martinez parked in front of the home of Doug and Stacy Glaze. According to Ault police reports, Doug Glaze complained, “Mateo parked his vehicle and blocked the view of the football game.”
Moments later, witnesses said Doug Glaze and Martinez started fighting and Stacy Glaze jumped in “throwing punches” while Doug Glaze “took Mateo to the ground and smashed his face into the ground.”
Police arrived and cited all three with disorderly conduct.
In November, each paid a fine of $150. That might have been the end of the story but on Nov. 19, Martinez lost consciousness after complaining of a massive headache.
“My father was beat up so bad, they hit him so many times in his head, and hit his head so many times on the pavement that his brain started bleeding and swelling,” said Rafaela Martinez, the 26-year-old daughter of Mateo.
Rafaela Martinez said her father had suffered a subdural hematoma that went undiagnosed for six weeks.
“Let’s put it into some words here: My father parked on a street, got into a fight because some people didn’t want him to park on the street and now he’s dying,” Rafaela Martinez said.
“He can’t talk to us, he can’t walk, he can’t eat, can’t barely open up his eyes for more than 20 seconds.”
Adding injury to insult, Ault police told the Martinez family they could not arrest the Glazes for any new charges citing double jeopardy because the couple had already pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.
Ault police Chief Richard Strang said in an email: “After consulting with the DA’s office … we were advised that no additional charges could be filed at this time due to DOUBLE JEOPARDY.”
The FOX31 Problem Solvers asked Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke to review the case to see if double jeopardy applies because the extent of Martinez’s injuries weren’t known at the time the Glazes pleaded guilty to a municipal summons.
Rourke said he now believes the Martinez case does not fall under double jeopardy.
“We can or could proceed with a prosecution under these circumstances. Now we are still in the process of conducting the investigation so we haven’t made a determination if we will,” Rourke said.
Martinez’s family is adamant the district attorney should file felony charges against Doug and Stacy Glaze.
“I don`t know how (Rourke would) be able to live with himself and not charge them knowing that Matt is going to die,” said Martinez’s ex-wife Becky Knighton.
When FOX31 asked Stacy Glaze if she and her husband should face additional charges, she whispered through her front door that, “We’ve already been to court, everything was settled.”
She added that it’s horrible that Martinez will soon die but said it could have just as easily been her husband, who suffered life-threatening injuries.
Police reports say the Glazes were “intoxicated” at the time of the fight and witnesses told investigators the Glazes were the aggressors, something Stacy Glaze denied.
“I’ve got 26 of the most amazing years with my father that could never ever be replaced, and Doug and Stacy did not steal those memories from me, but they stole my dad, they stole my dad from me,” Rafaela Martinez said.
Rourke refused to give a deadline for making a charging decision but suggested it won’t take more than a month.
A GoFundMe page for Martinez’s family has been established.