Police: Man shot in legs by car passenger charged for accusing fabricated black male suspects

IOWA CITY — Police say two Eastern Iowa men face charges after one man accidentally shot the other in the legs.

According to Iowa City Police Department criminal complaints, at about 9:30 a.m. Nov. 1 in Johnson County, Sergio Martinez, 19, of Iowa City, was driving with 21-year-old West Branch resident Jonathan Aragon Salas riding in the passenger seat. The two men had a handgun with them, police say.

While inside the car, Aragon Salas removed the handgun's magazine and pointed the gun down at Martinez's legs, with a round still in the chamber, according to police.

Police say when Aragon Salas pulled the trigger, the gun fired and the bullet traveled through both of Martinez's legs.

Shortly after the incident, Martinez arrived at Mercy Iowa City with gunshot wounds in both legs. When asked by police, Martinez said he was walking through a southside Iowa City apartment complex when he was randomly shot multiple times by black males he didn't recognize, according to police.

Police say Martinez's false report forced police to call in several off-duty officers in an effort to locate a shooter believed to be at large in the community.

An investigation found it was Aragon Salas who shot Martinez, police say.

Both men were booked Wednesday in the Johnson County Jail, where they remained in custody Thursday morning.

Aragon Salas has been charged with reckless use of a firearm, a Class C felony, while Martinez faces a serious misdemeanor charge for a false report of indictable offense to police.