Man Dies Months After A Fight Over A Parking Space At A Football Game
AULT, Colo. (CBS4) - A Greeley woman wants more serious charges filed against an Ault couple in the death of her father, 55-year-old Mateo Martinez, following a fight outside a high school football game in October.
On Saturday Martinez passed away at his home in Pierce. His daughter, Rafaela Martinez, says Mateo suffered traumatic brain injuries causing a hematoma and strokes. Martinez says doctors told her the injuries were a result of the fight.
The fight happened on Oct. 2 when Martinez became involved in a dispute with Doug and Stacy Glaze over a parking spot. According to an Ault police report that Martinez shared with CBS4's Lauren DiSpirito, the three began fighting after the Glazes said Martinez's truck was blocking their view of a high school football game. In the report, police state witnesses told officers the Glazes smashed Martinez's face into the ground and one of them got on Martinez's back and began choking him.
Police broke up the fight and all three people, Doug and Stacy Glaze and Mateo Martinez, accepted misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges and paid fines. Ault police ended their investigation in the case.
One month later Martinez says her father's health changed. While doctors cleared Martinez after performing one CT scan shortly after the fight, Rafaela says her father began suffering migraines, and a later scan revealed a hematoma. After a surgery in November, Rafaela says her father suffered multiple strokes.
"He really never came back after that," Martinez said.
"It's devastating, it's been the most devastating thing that's ever happened. It's like something you expect to hear in a movie or somewhere else, not in your own town and your home to your own father."
In November she notified police of her father's worsening condition, wanting more serious charges filed against the Glazes. Last week she says her father was moved home for hospice care and he passed away on Jan. 16.
"At this point, it's murder, they murdered my father," Martinez said. "They weren't there holding my sister when my father passed, they didn't hear the heart-wrenching sobs from my stepmother, they weren't there and they did that to us."
CBS4 tried to talk with Doug and Stacy Glaze about what happened. A neighbor told CBS4's Lauren DiSpirito that Stacy is emotionally distraught and does not want to speak on camera.
Ault Police Chief Rich Strang would not comment on the case, but said his department reopened the investigation after being notified of Martinez's worsening condition. Strang said it will be up to the Weld County District Attorney whether further charges are warrranted.
"We know who it is, we know what they did, we know that they're guilty of it, but they paid their $150 fines and they're good to go? That just can't be, that makes no sense," Martinez said.
Her family established a fundraising page and online petition, hoping to raise money to cover funeral costs for Martinez and encourage law enforcement to file new charges.
LINKS: Online Petition | GoFundMe Page
Lauren DiSpirito is CBS4's Northern Newsroom reporter. Follow her on Twitter @CBS4Lauren. Share your story ideas with her here.
