Sgt. Lance Kite (left) and Sgt. Phil Eckerberg are on scene investigating a shooting in the Main Street Market parking lot on Thursday, Aug. 4.
JEFF VAN PATTEN/Star-Herald
A Scottsbluff man arrested as a suspect in a Scottsbluff shooting had been involved in a contentious divorce involving custody disputes and protection orders, according to court documents filed in Scotts Bluff County Court.
Scottsbluff Police arrested Alexander J. Maldonado, 35, of Gering, in connection to a shooting Thursday in the parking lot of Main Street Market, according to information released by Capt. Lance Kite. Alexander J. Maldonado is accused of shooting Martin Maldonado Jr., 34.
Police and paramedics were called to the Main Street Market parking lot around 4:57 pm Thursday. Dispatchers relayed a report of a man in his vehicle suffering a gunshot wound to his abdomen, according to scanner traffic. The man, identified as Martin Maldonado Jr.34, suffered a single gunshot to the abdomen. He was transported to Regional West Medical Center for treatment.
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Evidence markers surround the back of a Dodge Ram pickup in the Main Street Market parking lot where a man was reported to have been shot in the abdomen on Thursday, Aug. 4. Scottsbluff Police Department is investigating the shooting that sent one man to the hospital.
JEFF VAN PATTEN/Star-Herald
Police arrested Alexander Maldonado on suspicion of attempted murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony, prohibit person in possession of a firearm, protection order violation and discharge of a firearm within city limits. He is being held at the Scotts Bluff County Detention Center.
Martin Maldonado Jr. is an officer at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington. According to the Wyoming Department of Corrections, he remains hospitalized.
Court records filed in Scotts Bluff County Court indicate that Alexander and his estranged wife have been involved in a contentious divorce since May 2020. At different times, Alexander Maldonado has had visits with his children limited or required to be supervised. Custody issues were scheduled to be heard during trial this month. According to court records, subpoenas were issued to several individuals in the case Thursday as a trial had been scheduled for Aug. 22.
In June, Alexander Maldonado’s estranged wife filed a protection order on behalf of herself and a minor child. A hearing on the protection order occurred Wednesday, and court records noted that Alexander Maldonado and the woman had agreed to a four-hour weekly, supervised visitation with his child. The case had been continued for hearing later this month.
An evidence marker sits behind a white Toyota Camry in the Main Street Market parking lot where a man was reported to have been shot in the abdomen on Thursday, Aug. 4. Scottsbluff Police Department is investigating the shooting that sent one man to the hospital.
JEFF VAN PATTEN/Star-Herald
The woman says in the filing that she is dating Martin Maldonado Jr. and cited specific incidents involving Alexander Maldonado that she said made her fear for her safety and well-being, as well as for her child. Martin Maldonado Jr. had also filed a harassment protection order against Alexander Maldonado in September 2021, alleging Alexander Maldonado had assaulted him on one occasion, which in criminal charges, and other confrontations with the man. That protection order remains in place.
Formal charges against Alexander Maldonado have not yet been filed in Scotts Bluff County Court, and he did not appear in Friday’s scheduled jail arraignments, according to court records.
Anyone with additional information about this case is asked to contact the Communications Center at 308-632-7171 or Crime Stoppers at 308-632-STOP (7867). Emails can be sent to [email protected].
The Scottsbluff Fire Department, Gering Police Department, Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Office, Mitchell Police Department and Valley Ambulance also responded and assisted at the scene.