Lexington murder suspect tracked down by eyewitness account, phone record, police say
An eyewitness account and numerous useful tips helped police identify a Lexington homicide suspect who subsequently set off a chase through more than a dozen red lights and stop signs Wednesday, according to court records.
Codie Calderon, 29, has been charged with murder and other offenses. Court documents show that prior to the chase, a probable cause warrant was issued for Calderon, connecting him to the killing of Cameron Martin, 27, after a late-night argument on Ohio Street last month.
A witness and multiple tips submitted to Crime Stoppers allegedly identified Calderon as the shooter, according to court records.
The tips also provided officers with Calderon’s phone number, court records show. Police traced Calderon’s cellphone back to the scene of the crime at approximately 12:09 a.m. on Aug. 13 when Martin was shot.
There were multiple spent shell casings next to Martin’s body, which was lying in the roadway with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, according to court documents.
Court records show that officers found Calderon in a 2003 gold GMC Yukon SUV Wednesday afternoon. When police tried to initiate a traffic stop, Calderon fled, police said.
Calderon is accused of driving through more than a dozen “red lights/stop signs,” weaving through traffic and darting through a parking lot where pedestrians were, according to court documents.
The vehicle chase ended when Calderon wrecked with another vehicle on Fifth Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard, police said. Calderon then fled on foot but was apprehended shortly afterward in the 200 block of Fifth Street.
According to court records, two people were in the other vehicle in the accident. Both suffered what police described as minor injuries and one was transported to the hospital.
Police say Calderon was driving with no driver’s license, no insurance and the vehicle registration was canceled, court records show.
Court records also say Calderon told police he initially fled because he had been smoking marijuana.
Along with murder, Calderon was charged with first-degree wanton endangerment, first-degree fleeing or evading police, leaving the scene of accident (failure to render aid or assistance) and other charges. He was in the Fayette County jail on a $750,000 bond.
