Two armed ex-cons turned a Brooklyn bodega into a scene from a Western as they began blasting away at each other inside as bystanders dashed for cover, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Jonathan Arboleda, 30, and Wilson Martinez, 41, were both hit with federal firearms charges Thursday for the broad daylight, July 21 showdown in Cypress Hills.
It wasn’t exactly High Noon at the Soto Mini Market — the action happened at about 1:30 p.m. — but the shooting made for a grimly cinematic scene, as described in court filings.
Martinez and a second man walked into the bodega on Crescent St. at Glen St. while Arboleda was talking to a clerk and watching a video on his phone, according to a criminal complaint.
A moment later, Martinez whipped a gun out of his waistband, pointed it at Arboleda, and fired a shot, the feds allege.
Arboleda ran to the back of the store, hid behind a shelf, and fired back, then emerged towards the front of the store, holding a silver Winchester .25 handgun and bleeding from his arm, the feds allege.
He dropped his gun and picked it back up, then followed Martinez out of the store, pointing his pistol at a car Martinez fled the scene in, the feds allege.
When the cops showed up, they found Arboleda on the corner, bleeding from a gunshot to his right arm and abdomen.
Cops arrested Arboleda that day, charging him in state court with criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.
Investigators linked Martinez to the shooting in part by talking to Arboleda’s cousin, who had been “interacting with Martinez for several months” and met Martinez in his vehicle shortly before the shooting, according to the criminal complaint.
The cousin ordered food, stepped away to go to the bathroom, then returned to see Arboleda wounded on the street, the feds allege.
Both men face federal charges because, as convicted felons, it’s a federal crime for either of them to possess a firearm.
It wasn’t immediately clear why the two men were gunning for each other.
Martinez’s criminal record dates back to at least 2005 and includes convictions for gun possession, robbery, and drug trafficking, according to court filings.
Arboleda’s rap sheet dates back to 2014 and includes attempted robbery and drug dealing convictions.
“Despite repeated encounters with our criminal justice system, each defendant chose to return to the streets to engage in a brazen act of violence,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said Thursday.
Martinez was arrested Wednesday, while Arboleda is being held on Rikers Island on state charges and will be arraigned in Brooklyn Federal Court at a later date.