Raisin City man pleads not guilty to deadly drill dispute that left neighbor dead

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It was a drill dispute that turned deadly. Martin Avalos is accused of killing Jose Mario Calderon.

"Martin borrowed some tools," the man's family member told Action News. "When Martin tried to give them back to Mario, Mario starts saying, 'I want them new.'"

As Avalos' loved one tells the story, the tools were used and never new.

But as Calderon's sister tells it, Avalos never wanted to give them back.

The small fence between their Raisin City homes was no use.

"Mario would start threatening Martin with his son, that he was going to kill his son," Avalos' family member said. "He would go knock on Raul's, Martin's son, window in the middle of the night."

Prosecutors say the dispute turned deadly on April 4. They charged Avalos with murder.

He pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

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Like the dispute over the drill, there is now division over what happened.

"It's not right. I don't agree, but when it's about our kids -- threatening to kill your kids, it's hard," Avalos' family member said. "It's hard."

Avalos' loved one suggested the man was acting in self-defense.

"It's not self-defense. That's a lie," the victim's sister, Leticia Rodriguez, said.

The drill dispute could now take center stage in court, where Action News Legal Analyst Tony Capozzi says self-defense is the most likely argument.

"At the time of trial, the district attorney is going to have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the murder happened, and the district attorney is going to have to prove it was not self-defense," Capozzi said.

It could be months until this case goes to trial.

Avalos remains at the Fresno County Jail on a $1.5 million bail.

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