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Charges That Are More Serious Possible After Man Dies Long After Fight At Football Game

AULT, Colo. (CBS4) - Charges that are more serious could now be filed against an Ault couple in the recent death of a 55-year-old man following a fight outside a high school football game in October.

On Saturday 55-year-old Mateo 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.

On Wednesday Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke said his office is looking into whether they'll file charges in the case and what those charges may be.

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 Rafaela 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.

Rafaela Martinez
CBS4's Lauren DiSpirito interviews Rafaela Martinez (credit: CBS)

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.

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."

Rourke told CBS4 the decision on more serious charges is taking a while because his office first had to research if it would be double jeopardy to charge the parties involved in state court when they've already accepted municipal charges and paid the fines. He says research leads him to the conclusion that it would not be double jeopardy.

Mateo Martinez
Mateo Martinez (credit: Martinez family)

Rourke has requested that police go back and do more witness interviews and "ask some questions that need to be asked that may not have been before." He says he's asked them to move fast because "there needs to be a conclusion one way or the other."

Rourke said his office will reach out to the Martinez family once he reaches a decision and said Martinez's death would affect the potential charges in the case.

Rourke said he wasn't in a position to question if the Ault Police Department mishandled the case. He said there's no sign officers did anything criminally wrong in their initial investigation and his office isn't investigating the police.

The Martinez 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

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