San Angelo Man Indicted for Dragging Bicyclist to His Death

SAN ANGELO, TX — Earlier this month, a San Angelo man was indicted for hitting a man on a bicycle, dragging him a short distance, which killed him. 

San Angelo Police Department received a call on November 21 last year about a hit and run accident, and possibly a death. When they arrived at 1900 block of N. Van Buren, they found Jacob Martinez, 33, dead due to significant injuries that appeared related to being dragged by an auto. They recovered pieces of a side mirror that had broken off from the suspected vehicle. 

They also found a surveillance camera, on which its video recording showed a man traveling northbound on Van Buren on a bicycle. Then the video revealed a single cab long bed pickup truck pass through the video, and no other vehicles were seen on the road. 

Another man was seen on the video, so police located and interviewed him to see what he knew. The witness stated that he saw the truck hit the man on the bike. He told officers that it seemed like the pickup was going to stop, but then it sped away instead. 

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Above: A view of the crime scene in late November 2018. (LIVE! Photo/Sam Fowler)

With the evidence gathered, the centerpiece being the mirror from the truck, police said they determined that the suspected truck was a long bed, single-cab GMC or Chevrolet pickup year model between 1999 and 2005 with black plastic fender flares. The color of the vehicle was described as silver or gray. The exact color was difficult to determine because the surveillance video was in black and white. 

On November 22, SAPD was dispatched to a suspicious vehicle at the 900 block of Howard St. When they arrived, they found a single-cab long bed GMC pickup with black fender flares. They noticed that mirror of the truck was broken. 

According to the affidavit, they observed a green colored substance consistent with tire sealant on a "frame cross member of the suspected vehicle." Police also observed fresh marks on the exterior passenger side bed panel made out of dirt residue that was in a pattern consistent with the marks of bicycle tires. 

Detectives interviewed the owner of the vehicle, 49-year-old Clayton Dunn. Dunn told the detectives that he was trimming trees at 900 block of Howard until dark the previous day. He said he did not drive down Van Buren that he could remember, and denied hitting anyone with his vehicle. He told police that after he left the Howard St. residence, he went to his home in Grape Creek. 

Dunn was arrested on November 22 for accident involving death. 

On January 10, a San Angelo grand jury of Dunn's peers indicted him for accident involving death, a Second Degree Felony. If convicted, Dunn faces two to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.