A Reading man was arrested Wednesday in the predawn ambush shooting of a man he described as his romantic rival, police said.
Jose Gastambides-Martinez, 51, was taken into custody by Reading police officers after he left his home in the 100 block of Patton Avenue.
Officers had his car under surveillance because video footage tied the vehicle to the shooting, which occurred about 5 a.m. in the 100 block of Church Street, according to court records. They stopped Gastambides-Martinez in the car as he began to drive away and took him to City Hall for questioning.
Gastambides-Martinez admitted that he left his home about 4:15 a.m. drove to the first block of Church Street — one block from the 47-year-old victim’s home — and waited for him to leave, police said.
He said he walked up to the victim after the victim got into the driver’s seat of his work van and fired at least three shots at him, according to police.
Police responded to a report of a shooting but didn’t find a victim because someone had driven the victim to Reading Hospital. Officers went to the hospital to look for a victim and found a bullet-riddled van illegally parked at the emergency entrance.
Officers learned the victim had been taken into the emergency room for surgery. Information on his medical condition wasn’t immediately available, but police said indications are that it is stable.
Gastambides-Martinez was charged with attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault and illegally acquiring a firearm.
He was committed to Berks County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail to await a hearing following arraignment Wednesday night before District Judge Michael D. Kaufman in Reading Central Court.
According to court records:
Officers saw the windshield of the van had four bullet holes. A large amount of blood was on the front passenger seat and front passenger door.
A witness said the victim was in the driver’s seat when he was shot by a male standing in front of the van.
Video footage shows the entire incident. After shooting the victim, the suspect runs southbound, crossing Washington Street, and gets into an SUV.
Data from traffic cameras tracked the movement of the SUV, which was registered to Gastambides-Martinez. The SUV heads west on Washington, south on Second Street and southbound across the Bingaman Street Bridge.
Security cameras in the 1000 block of Patton Avenue show Gastambides-Martinez, wearing similar clothing as the suspect, getting out of the SUV and walking toward his residence. No one else is seen leaving the vehicle.
Gastambides-Martinez told investigators that he and Gastambides-Martinez were having issues for several months over a woman they had both been involved with, prompting him to buy a .380-caliber handgun on the street.
He said he tossed the gun out the window, along with a bandanna and baseball that he was wearing during the ambush, as he drove away.