Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner

WEST HAVEN — A Roy man has been arrested for murder in the shooting death Wednesday night of his brother-in-law, according to a probable cause affidavit in the matter.

Dallas Martineau, 40, admitted to shooting the man, who authorities haven’t named, in the backyard of a West Haven home, according to the affidavit. The document doesn’t provide a motive but described Martineau waiting outside the home for the victim to come out.

Martineau “described how he drove to the residence in West Haven with a firearm and how he waited in the back of the house for (the victim) to come outside. He described listening to conversations (the victim) was having in the home,” reads the affidavit. “He admitted that he was already holding the gun in his hands. He stated that when (the victim) started to come outside that they made eye contact and he shot him multiple times. He then fled the scene and went to his home in Roy.”

In a press release Thursday morning, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office described the victim as a 50-year-old man and said a suspect had been arrested, but little more. “This appears to be an isolated event and there is no outstanding danger to the public,” the statement said.

Authorities converged on the scene in a residential neighborhood near the intersection of 4700 West and 4350 South after receiving a report around 11:10 p.m. Wednesday of someone in the area with a gunshot wound. The victim was found in the yard of the home.

Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner

A neighbor who asked to remain anonymous said the scene was chaotic late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning with law enforcement vehicles from varied departments. Yellow police tape was still wrapped around a tree in the yard of the home that was the focus of law enforcement efforts late Wednesday.

The affidavit, citing a witness who was present at the time, said the victim had gone outside to the back porch of his home to smoke a cigarette, leading up to the deadly confrontation. After hearing “multiple pop sounds,” the witness, still inside the home, looked outside.

The witness “saw a male standing with his arms outstretched like the male was holding a gun,” reads the affidavit. “Witness retrieved a gun of his own and went outside, but the suspect had fled the scene.”

The witness identified Martineau — the victim’s brother-in-law — as the possible suspect, leading authorities to his home in Roy and their interview with him, when he allegedly confessed.

“Evidence recovered from the scene supports this confession. Investigators recovered multiple shell casings from the back patio area at the scene. They recovered a firearm from Martineau’s vehicle as he described. Additionally, Martineau admitted to shooting (the victim) to his wife,” reads the affidavit.

Two neighbors, who asked to remain anonymous, recall friendly interactions with the victim.

One would “wave to him and say hi, talk to him once in a while at the mailbox. They were good neighbors,” he said. “It’s a good, quiet neighborhood.”

The sheriff’s office offered condolences to the family and friends of the victim. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they grieve their loss,” said the statement.

Martineau was ordered to be held without bail.

Newsletter