GILLETTE, Wyo. — The preliminary hearing for a man accused of shooting and killing his half-sister on Carey Avenue this week is set for Jan. 30, Campbell County court records say.
Vincent Hackett, 26, is charged with felony second-degree murder, with prosecutors alleging he armed himself with a handgun that he used to shoot and kill his half-sister, 33-year-old Haleigh M. Martinez, on Jan. 20, court documents state.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case, shots were fired following an argument between the half-siblings on Carey Avenue, where Martinez and her family cared for her three young children. The incident was preceded by an evening of alcohol consumption.
Court documents characterize the relationship between Hackett and Martinez as confrontational, driven mainly by Hackett’s disapproval of Martinez’s manner of raising her children and his belief that she was a known drug user.
The night of the incident, Martinez, Hackett and their mother were consuming alcohol when Martinez became upset upon overhearing a conversation about her between her mother and brother. She stormed out of the residence before being retrieved by a friend who took Martinez home, the affidavit states.
In City of Gillette security cameras, Martinez was seen driving a pickup back to the Carey Avenue residence. An argument broke out, during which the siblings were separated to different areas of the home as Hackett continually told Martinez to leave. He escorted her to the front door, pushed her out and locked the door behind her, per court documents.
Martinez, enraged, began beating on the door demanding entry while Hackett yelled back through the door. Their mother told officers the door suddenly swung open and Hackett raised a pistol, according to the affidavit.
He fired one round into Martinez’s face, the affidavit states, and fired at least two more times after she fell to the ground while his mother retreated with her grandchildren to the rear of the residence, the affidavit states.
Following the shooting, Hackett allegedly came to the back of the house and stated, “Give me a hug, because I am going to jail.” He then called 911 and stated he was responsible for the shooting, according to the affidavit, which says Hackett was taken into custody when officers arrived.
Officers initiated lifesaving measures for Martinez and identified a single gunshot wound to her head. At the hospital, medical personnel identified two more gunshot wounds and pronounced her deceased soon after her arrival, court documents state.
Inside the residence, officers located a single bare round of ammunition on a bed, a shell casing behind a television and a third on top of a bag of Cheetos, per the affidavit. Two bullet impacts were found in the area where Martinez was located and a firearm was seized from where it lay on a television stand in the living room.
When interviewed by police, the siblings’ mother couldn’t say when her son armed himself and stated her certainty that he didn’t perceive his sister as a threat.
According to Campbell County Coroner Paul Wallem, an autopsy has been scheduled for Martinez which will establish an official cause of death.
A preliminary hearing will take place in Circuit Court on Jan. 30 in which a judge will decide if there is sufficient probable cause to send Hackett’s case to District Court for further proceedings, court records say.
