A suspected killer who shot a 35-year-old Terra Alta man Sunday afternoon is being held without bail.
Following an investigation, Luis Eduardo Martinez-Otero, 51, of Terra Alta, was arrested without incident near his residence, according to the West Virginia State Police.
The victim, Zachary Alan Shrout, was flown to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital by HealthNet but died of his injuries, according to a WVSP press release.
Martinez-Otero is charged with first degree murder for killing Shrout. He was arraigned on Monday morning and is being held in Tygart Valley Regional Jail without bond.
Two WVSP troopers and deputies with the Preston County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a shots fired call at a home on Veterans Memorial Highway in Terra Alta about 1:17 p.m. Sunday, according to a criminal complaint.
The 911 caller told troopers the shooter left in a red Ford truck and Shrout had been shot in the head but was inside the house still breathing. According to the complaint, the home was cleared, and Shrout was found in the front of the house on the floor with an open head wound.
Troopers spoke with the 911 caller again who provided more details of the truck — burgundy with a black brush guard on front — and told police that Shrout said a man, later identified as Martinez-Otero, was on the way there to fight him. The caller said he recognized the truck as Martinez-Otero’s.
An EMS worker asked if the truck also had a dark color camper top. The caller said it did and further described it as “Heidi’s truck (the suspect’s significant other).” The EMS worker told troopers he saw Martinez-Otero speeding through town in the truck, toward Shrout’s home, and shortly after got the call about the shooting.
Details such as if a gun was recovered or what led to the shooting were not released. A WVSP sergeant with the Kingwood detachment told The Dominion Post no more information was being released, as stated in the press release.
Remembering Zachary
“Man, I hate that I’m making this post. I’m sick of my friends dying. This is unreal Rest Easy “Zacharia” I hope the Angels know what they have! I’ll miss you bud, fr,” shared Krissie Michelle on Facebook.
“Zach was a good dude,” she said of her friend, when contacted by The Dominion Post. “He cared about other people more than he should have … more (than) they cared about him. He was never the type of dude to not help someone else that he had the ability to help.”
Shrout liked “rapping” and thought he was much better than he truthfully was, she said.
“Although, he could play the guitar so amazingly. I’ve caught him off guard playing and singing along to an original song he was writing himself. And to say it was amazing wouldn’t be giving it enough credit,” Michelle continued.
He loved “old-school retro nerdy things,” The Grateful Dead and was a hopeless romantic.
“He just wanted love like everyone does,” Michelle said. “Never been the type of guy to coward away from standing up for himself or any one of his friends (and sometimes one’s that weren’t). He had guts and he had heart. I’ll miss him every day and I’m devastated he’s gone.”
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