Martin Sandoval held without bail in Albuquerque park assault

Martin Sandoval will stay jailed while he awaits trial in an Albuquerque park assault, a judge ruled Friday. The ruling keeps a man with a record of violent encounters off city streets.

Sandoval, accused of attacking a tow truck driver at Tower Park last month, appeared in Bernalillo County court on charges of aggravated assault, battery and making a shooting threat. A criminal complaint says Sandoval wore full tactical gear and carried a rifle with a laser sight, a handgun and a knife during the encounter.

According to the complaint, the tow truck driver and his girlfriend were sitting in the truck waiting for a tow call when they saw someone pointing a laser at them. The driver walked across the street to investigate and met Sandoval, the complaint states. Sandoval hit the man over the head, threatened to shoot and stab him, and used racial slurs, the complaint says.

Sandoval told police the man tripped and fell on his own, investigators said.

Sandoval has a criminal history in Albuquerque. In October 2023, he was working as a security guard at a Walgreens near Central and Eubank when he told two people outside the store to leave. Security camera video showed Sandoval hitting a man in the head with a baton, hitting him again and kicking him before walking away, leaving the man with a serious head injury, according to investigators. Sandoval received a conditional discharge and did not serve time behind bars.

In 2024, Sandoval was arrested again and accused of wearing a security guard’s shirt, falsely claiming to work for a nearby business, punching a homeless man near Coors Boulevard and Old Airport Road, then shooting and killing the man’s dog, according to a criminal complaint. That case was dropped because the victim would not testify.

The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office is pushing to keep Sandoval in jail through trial. Court records show the office argued against release.

The Albuquerque Police Department said Sandoval was once a security guard and has a record of run-ins tied to attacks on homeless people.

Aggravated assault and battery are felony charges under New Mexico law. A making a shooting threat charge accuses someone of threatening to use a firearm against another person. Defendants charged with these offenses can be held without bail before trial if a judge finds them a danger to the community.

Sandoval’s next court date had not been set.