Ismael Zachery Martinez, a 27-year-old Black male, was found fatally shot in a windswept field south of Clovis on the afternoon of Friday, December 16, 2022. Deputies were dispatched around 2:30 p.m. to the intersection of Curry Roads K and 8, near the old Swift plant, where they discovered his body and confirmed he had been shot. Early updates from investigators indicated the killing was part of the region’s grim tally of homicides that year.
Within days, the Curry County Sheriff’s Office named four persons of interest: Cesar Rascon-Chacon, 23; Mi’Linda Gallegos, 20; Veronica Galvan, 46; and Eduardo Blanco. Two of them—Rascon-Chacon and Gallegos—were quickly apprehended over the weekend on parole or probation violations as detectives pressed forward with the homicide investigation. Authorities also appealed to the public for help locating Galvan and Blanco.
Investigators then moved to formal charges. By December 21, 2022, Rascon-Chacon had been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Martinez’s shooting. Additional counts included being a felon in possession of a firearm and tampering with evidence, according to local reports and a sheriff’s news release. At the time of that announcement, officials noted Rascon-Chacon was already in custody on a supervision violation.
As detectives continued to trace the events leading up to the killing, they said it was believed Martinez was not shot where he was found, suggesting he had been moved to the field before discovery. In the days that followed, Blanco—publicly identified as a person of interest—was located, interviewed, and released, while law enforcement reiterated that more arrests could follow as the Major Crimes Unit worked the case. Public records of the incident likewise list Rascon-Chacon as the arrested suspect and document the fatal shooting at Curry Roads K and 8.
