ARIZONA – Glendale police arrested 62-year-old Rusty French for shooting and killing a woman in her vehicle.
Just before 7:30pm, on Saturday, June 11, 2022, officers responded to a call of an injury accident near 6100 West Bell Road, where a vehicle had driven off the roadway into a landscaping area. The single vehicle accident occurred at low impact with no airbag deployment. Officers could see the female driver inside the vehicle was in distress and non-responsive. The officers forced entry into the vehicle to render aid. The female driver and sole occupant was pronounced deceased on scene. She was identified as 60-year-old Pamela Rae Martinez (Glendale resident).
A witness reported Martinez was parked on the side of the road and a van was parked alongside her vehicle, a male subject was outside of Martinez’ vehicle, then got into the van and drove away. The witness said the woman’s vehicle then slowly began to drive off the roadway.
Through the course of the investigation, it was discovered that Martinez had completed her last food delivery and for some reason took a photograph from her cell phone of a man sitting in his van alongside of her vehicle. The man was later identified as Rusty French. On June 15, 2022, French was brought in for questioning and a search warrant was executed on his home. French was confronted with the photograph taken of him moments before Martinez was shot and killed. He admitted that was him in the photograph but said he must have blacked out as to what occurred. Handguns were recovered from French’s home. One of the handguns was a ballistic match for the handgun used in the shooting. Other evidence was gathered to implicate French as the shooter. French and Martinez were not known to each other nor was she delivering food to him.
French was arrested on June 23, 2022, for one count of second degree murder and booked into jail.
