The case against Troy Yazzie draws on Manuel Martinez’s statement, a 911 call, medical findings and statements attributed to the defendant.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — A 911 call, an injured man’s statement to police, medical findings, a recovered construction helmet and statements attributed to the accused form the publicly reported foundation of a second-degree murder case against Troy Yazzie, 31, in the death of his 76-year-old roommate, Manuel Martinez.
The records described by news organizations offer a more detailed account than the basic allegation that an argument over an electric bill ended in a fatal assault. They also contain points that require caution. Reports agree that Martinez was seriously injured April 30, that police allege Yazzie attacked him during a dispute involving $50, that Martinez later died from injuries authorities linked to the confrontation and that Yazzie was arrested in Flagstaff. But the available sources conflict on Martinez’s exact date of death, illustrating why allegations and document-based details must be attributed rather than presented as settled findings.
The first major piece of evidence described publicly is Martinez’s own account. He called police shortly before 10:30 p.m. from an apartment complex near 2400 West Hazelwood Street and told authorities he had been arguing with Yazzie. Martinez said he had given his roommate $50 to pay their electric bill, according to court documents summarized by multiple outlets. When the bill was not paid, Martinez said he asked for his money back. Investigators allege that the disagreement then became violent.
An arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime states that Martinez accused Yazzie of striking him repeatedly in the face with a white construction helmet. AZFamily, also citing court documents, reported that Martinez said Yazzie punched him and hit him with the helmet. Responding officers saw injuries to Martinez’s face and head. He was able to speak with them at the apartment before he was transported for treatment. Yazzie was not there when officers arrived, police said.
The emergency call provides another contemporaneous account of the scene. According to the affidavit cited by Law&Crime, a male voice could be heard in the background asking Martinez whether he was calling police. The wording has been reported from the affidavit, but the publicly reviewed sources do not independently establish the speaker’s identity. Its evidentiary significance would therefore depend on authentication and other issues that could be addressed in court if prosecutors seek to use the recording.
Investigators also reportedly recovered a construction helmet outside the apartment complex the following day. That object potentially corresponds with Martinez’s description of the item used against him, but public reports reviewed for this article do not disclose laboratory results connecting the helmet to Martinez, Yazzie or the alleged assault. The recovery is therefore a documented investigative step, not proof by itself that the helmet was the object used during the confrontation.
The medical record described publicly supplies the next part of the prosecution’s theory. AZFamily reported that a CT scan showed multiple facial fractures requiring surgery. Law&Crime’s account of the arrest affidavit also referenced serious head injuries. Martinez remained in medical care after the assault and was later transferred to rehabilitation. His health subsequently declined, according to the reports, and he was returned to a Phoenix hospital before his death.
Sources differ on precisely when that death occurred. KTAR and the Arizona Daily Independent, each relying on information attributed to Phoenix police, reported that Martinez died July 11. AZFamily, citing court documents, gave July 15. Law&Crime said only that the death occurred earlier in July. Because those published accounts cannot be fully reconciled from the accessible record, the date should not be stated without attribution. The sources do agree that authorities tied Martinez’s death to complications from blunt-force trauma suffered during the April incident.
That medical conclusion is critical because the criminal case depends not merely on proving an assault but on connecting the alleged violence to Martinez’s death. A person can survive an initial injury and die later, but prosecutors still must establish the causal link required by the homicide charge. Public reporting said a preliminary finding attributed the death to blunt-force trauma. The complete medical-examiner file, expert analyses and any defense challenge to causation were not available in the sources reviewed.
Martinez’s death prompted the Phoenix Police Department’s Violent Crimes Bureau Homicide Unit to take control of the investigation. By then, police said Yazzie had relocated to Flagstaff. Court-document reporting indicated that a probation officer had information about Yazzie’s plans to stay with his mother there. Phoenix investigators coordinated with Flagstaff police, and Yazzie was arrested July 28. Phoenix personnel then brought him back to the Valley for booking.
Statements attributed to Yazzie after his arrest add another component to the prosecution’s account. AZFamily reported that Yazzie admitted punching Martinez and striking him with his construction helmet. Law&Crime said the affidavit stated that Yazzie did not claim self-defense. The affidavit also reportedly said he recognized Martinez was older and understood that striking an older person could cause serious injury or death. Such reported admissions may be important evidence, but their precise wording, context and admissibility can be challenged through the criminal court process.
Yazzie was booked on one count of second-degree murder and held on a reported $1 million bond. Under Arizona Revised Statutes Section 13-1104, second-degree murder is a Class 1 felony and can be committed in several ways without premeditation. Those include intentionally causing death, knowingly causing death or serious physical injury that results in death, or engaging in conduct that creates a grave risk of death with extreme indifference to human life. The public reports reviewed do not establish which factual theory prosecutors ultimately will ask a jury to apply.
Some early coverage also illustrates the importance of reconciling basic case information. Law&Crime reported that Yazzie was charged in Pima County and initially said the victim had not been publicly identified. Other reporting, including Phoenix-focused outlets citing police information and court documents, identifies the victim as Manuel Martinez and places the booking and homicide investigation in the Phoenix and Maricopa County system. The Maricopa County booking information reported elsewhere is consistent with the Phoenix Police Department’s role in the case. The conflicting Pima County reference should therefore not be repeated as an established fact.
The broader record must likewise be handled carefully when it comes to Yazzie’s past. AZFamily reported that court documents listed previous convictions, while a 2019 Arizona Court of Appeals decision involving a Troy Kevin Yazzie Sr. from a Phoenix case affirmed kidnapping and aggravated-assault convictions. Publicly available material reviewed here does not establish enough identifying detail to treat every historical record bearing the name as automatically belonging to the defendant in the current homicide prosecution. Prior conduct also does not prove guilt in the present case, so it is not necessary to the central allegation.
What remains most consequential is the evidence tied directly to April 30 and Martinez’s subsequent death: his immediate account to officers, the 911 recording, the injuries observed and treated, the helmet reportedly recovered near the apartment, the medical progression, investigators’ efforts to locate Yazzie and statements they say he made after his arrest. Each item may support part of the state’s theory, but the criminal justice process determines which evidence can be presented and whether prosecutors prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
Yazzie remains accused rather than convicted in Martinez’s death. The unresolved questions now belong to the court process, including the strength of the medical-causation evidence, the treatment of Yazzie’s reported statements and the ultimate weight given to the records investigators assembled after Martinez called 911 on April 30.
Author note: Last updated September 8, 2026.