Intruder shot, but victims are fine following home invasion on Saturday

ONTARIO — An intruder who was shot during a home invasion on Saturday is expected to survive, although he was transported to a local hospital for emergent care following the incident. If he is released from the hospital, Terry Lee Martz, 67, will be taken into custody by law enforcement.

Martz has active felony warrants out of Idaho. Idaho Department of Corrections had Martz listed on its most wanted list since October of 2020. He was listed as a fugitive with a parole violation for kidnapping/rape/sexual abuse of a minor. According to that information, he had absconded from parole and failed to register as a sex offender.

No other injuries were reported in the incident on Saturday.

“The victims are fine in that situation, which is kind of a big deal,” said Undersheriff Travis Johnson in a phone interview on Monday.

A request for information about charges for the home invasion is pending with the District Attorney’s Office.

According to a news release on Sunday afternoon from Malheur County District Attorney David Goldthorpe, a home invasion with a firearm was reported to police at about noon on Saturday. The area was the 4000 block of Elderberry Lane, which is north of Ontario city limits off of Highway 201.

Malheur County Sheriff deputies and the Oregon State Police troopers responded to the incident.

According to interviews conducted and evidence gathered at the scene, police determined that Martz had entered the home through an unlocked door. At that time, the woman who lived there was reading in the living room and the man who lived there was in the shed near the home.

The news release states that when the man re-entered his home, “he found Martz in the kitchen pointing a firearm his direction.”

When the resident asked Martz what he wanted, Martz allegedly “demanded the male make him a sandwich.” So he did; when he was done with that, he then asked if his wife was OK. Martz said she was.

The man then asked Martz if he could check on her himself. According to the release, when the resident did that, he told his wife they had a guest, then “quickly retrieved his shotgun from the bedroom and returned.”

The district attorney reports that the men got into a physical struggle while holding their guns and, during that time, the shotgun was discharged.

That struck Martz near the side of his chest, and enabled the residents to restrain and disarm him.

They then called police, who responded with paramedics. According to the district attorney, at last confirmation, Martz was expected to survive the gunshot wound.

“This was a traumatic situation for the residents, who had never before seen or heard of Terry Martz,” wrote Goldthorpe. “Thankfully they both made it through the ordeal safely and have each other for continued support.”

He offered gratitude to the Sheriff’s Office for its lead on the investigation, and to State Police and the sheriff’s office for quick response to the emergency.

Asked whether he had any cautionary advice for people as far as leaving their homes unlocked, Johnson had the following to say.

“It’s a hard habit to get into locking your door all the time and, really, the bottom line is most of us are very safe in our homes, even with the doors unlocked throughout day. But for safety reasons, obviously, if you lock your door makes it harder for people to get in,” the undersheriff said, adding, “These situations are pretty uncommon, but becoming more common.”