Raisin City man appears in court after shooting left neighbor dead

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A neighborly dispute landed Martin Avalos in court on Wednesday. He is now an accused killer, charged with murder.

"I'll be appointing the public defender to represent you, sir," Fresno County Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Wilson said. "We're here for an arraignment."

Investigators say Avalos shot and killed Jose Rodriguez in Raisin City last Friday.

The two were neighbors, and Tony Botti at the Fresno County Sheriff's Office tells Action News the men had a history.

"It appears that they had some prior problems between each other," Botti said. "Nothing, even to this point, that would've told us something like this would've happened."

Loved ones say the victim had just moved back in with his mother. The shooting unfolded in front of the family's home near the post office.

"She comes out, and then she says, 'Oh, somebody killed my son, my son. Who killed my son? Who killed my son?'" a family member said.

Investigators worked through the night and interviewed several witnesses.

"We figured out that this was close proximity," Botti said. "It was actually between neighbors. Once you boil it down to that, you're kind of dealing with 'Who's no longer at this house?'"

Deputies arrested Avalos in Fresno on Saturday, and prosecutors are now building their case, writing in the charging document that Avalos "personally and intentionally" fired a gun.

In court, Avalos stood with his attorney and a Spanish interpreter. His hands were in shackles.

"Your honor, I do acknowledge receipt of the arraignment," Avalos' public defender said. "However, I am asking to continue that arrangement in that particular case to May 1."

The judge granted that delay, meaning there was no plea from Avalos.

He now remains in the county jail on a $1.5 million bail.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Rodriguez's family.

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