Log in

FIRST RESPONDERS

Glendale police arrest suspect in murder of food delivery driver

Posted 6/24/22

Glendale police arrested 62-year-old Rusty French on charges of shooting and killing a woman in her vehicle.

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

To Our Valued Readers –

Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.

For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.

Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.

Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.

Sincerely,
Charlene Bisson, Publisher, Independent Newsmedia

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor
FIRST RESPONDERS

Glendale police arrest suspect in murder of food delivery driver

Posted

Glendale police arrested 62-year-old Rusty French on charges of shooting and killing a woman in her vehicle.

Just before 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, officers responded to a call of an injury accident near 6100 W. 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, and the officers forced entry into the vehicle to render aid.

The female driver and sole occupant was pronounced deceased on scene. Police identified her as 60-year-old Glendale resident Pamela Rae Martinez.

Police say a witness reported Martinez was parked on the side of the road and a van was parked alongside her vehicle, and that 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 cellphone of a man sitting in his van alongside of her vehicle. The man was later identified as Rusty French, according to police.

On June 15 French was brought in for questioning and a search warrant was executed on his home. Police say French was confronted with the photograph taken of him moments before Martinez was shot and killed. He allegedly admitted that was him in the photograph but said he must have blacked out as to what occurred.

Police say handguns were recovered from French’s home, and that one of the handguns was allegedly a ballistic match for the handgun used in the shooting. Other evidence was gathered to implicate French as the shooter, according to Glendale police.

French and Martinez were not known to each other nor was she delivering food to him, investigators say.

French was arrested Thursday, June 23 for one count of second degree murder and booked into jail.