Walmart worker followed, then repeatedly shot customer inside store, lawsuit says

The family of a 19-year-old man who was repeatedly shot and killed while shopping at Walmart is suing the retail giant and the employee accused of killing him.

Steve Soltero and his girlfriend were approached by Walmart employee Joshua Ray Martinez, leading to a “quarrel” that turned deadly at the store in Roswell, New Mexico, on Oct. 14, according to the family’s wrongful death lawsuit filed in November.

His family is “searching for answers on how a Walmart employee could arm himself inside the store and then walk to their son and fire,” attorney James Leech, who’s representing the suit, told McClatchy News in a statement on Jan. 9.

The day of the shooting, store surveillance footage showed the couple notice Martinez, 18, following them in an aisle, the Roswell Police Department said in an Oct. 16 news release.

Then, words and hand gestures were exchanged between both parties, according to police.

“When Martinez reached the couple, shoving occurred and the girlfriend tried to punch Martinez” before Soltero “walked down another aisle,” police said.

Martinez followed Soltero, pulled a handgun from a backpack and shot him several times, police said.

He first fired “one to two shots, which hit (Soltero), followed by an additional five to six shots,” a complaint says.

Martinez fled before police arrived and found Soltero, who was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, according to police. Martinez was arrested two days later.

McClatchy News attempted to reach the defense attorney representing Martinez in the criminal case against him on Jan. 9 and didn’t receive an immediate response.

In an Oct. 23 update, the Roswell Police Department announced Soltero was also armed the day of the shooting and had a gun in his hand when he was shot.

Surveillance footage “appears to show Soltero pulling or attempting to pull something from his waistband immediately before he is shot,” police wrote.

Family is ‘devastated’

“Soltero’s family is devastated by their loss,” Leech said.

His mother, Serena Contreras, and his father, Martin Soltero Jr., both of Chaves County, are suing Walmart and Martinez for negligence and gross negligence over their son’s death.

“We take the safety and security of our customers seriously and we’re saddened by what happened in our Roswell store,” Walmart spokeswoman Kelly Hellsbusch told McClatchy News in a statement on Jan. 9.

“We will defend the company against this litigation,” the statement said.

While the lawsuit contends Martinez was working when he shot Soltero, Walmart said the employee’s shift was over when the shooting unfolded, according to the company’s answer to the complaint filed Dec. 19.

On Oct. 16, two days after the shooting, Martinez was arrested at an apartment, according to police.

Information regarding his legal representation in the civil case wasn’t available.

Martinez pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree murder and one count of unlawful possession of a handgun by a person under 19 at a Dec. 11 arraignment, the Roswell Daily Record reported.

Girlfriend is charged

Soltero’s girlfriend, Zayleen Thyberg, 22, turned herself in on Oct. 17 after a warrant was issued for her arrest for tampering with evidence, police said in the Oct. 23 update.

Following the shooting, Thyberg was “uncooperative” during an interview with police officers, according to authorities.

She told officers she didn’t know who shot Soltero or what led up to the shooting, despite her involvement in the preceding verbal dispute, police said.

Thyberg is accused of “removing a gun from Soltero’s hand after he was shot” and hid it “on her person” before stashing it “among some nearby merchandise, where police later found it,” according to police.

On Dec. 26, Thyberg pleaded not guilty to one count of tampering with evidence, the Roswell Daily Record reported.

McClatchy News contacted her defense attorney for comment on Jan. 9 and didn’t receive an immediate response.

Walmart denies responsibility

The lawsuit accuses Walmart of failing to protect Soltero as a customer from its employee “who had arrived at (work) with a gun,” the complaint says.

Walmart denies this in the answer to the complaint.

“Walmart further denies it had any knowledge that Mr. Martinez brought a firearm into the store or that Defendant Martinez posed an obvious danger to Walmart’s customers,” the filing says.

According to the lawsuit, Walmart was negligent in its hiring of Martinez, who is accused of being on probation in connection with aggravated assault when he got the job.

Walmart denies having any knowledge of Martinez’s alleged, prior criminal record.

The lawsuit seeks to recover an unspecified amount of damages, attorney fees and other relief.

Soltero’s family wants a “fundamental change in the Walmart hiring process to ensure that they know another family doesn’t have to go through what they are currently going through,” Leech told McClatchy News.

“They want to ensure that violent criminals do not have access to customers, and at the same time, that there is a close monitoring process for employees who have violent histories. Because this is still in the beginning process and the initial inquiry stage, we continue to seek more information,” Leech added.

Corporate landlord raised tenants’ rent too much, suit says. $3.7M settlement reached

High school hockey players ‘incessantly’ bullied, sexually harassed teammate, suit says

Off-duty cops restrain passenger groping woman, threatening others on flight, feds say