Meth-addled man shot self in scrotum defending neighbors from imaginary Mexicans in the trees

Authorities in Wenatchee, Washington, say Martin Eugene Hoyer was on the second day of a methamphetamine binge when he decided to kick in a neighbor’s door to rescue her from hallucinatory “Mexicans.” When he did so, the handgun in his waistband discharged, sending a bullet through his lower abdomen and into his scrotum, police said. Hoyer, 51, survived the gunshot and now is charged with first-degree assault, felony harassment and four counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. He faces arraignment in Chelan County Superior Court on Monday.

Wenatchee police said Hoyer first threatened a female neighbor with the .45-calibre Taurus revolver, pointing it at her through the picture window of her apartment at around 7 p.m. Sept. 13. According to police court affidavits, Hoyer told investigators he heard “a bunch of Mexicans and white guys” plotting with his neighbor to steal his truck and cash. Hoyer said their voices carried through an air vent from the woman’s apartment to his. The neighbor told police Hoyer stood outside her apartment armed with the revolver, aimed it at her through the window and threatened to shoot her for planning to rob him. He then returned to his own apartment next door.

Hoyer told police he saw “Mexicans in the trees” outside his apartment complex “getting ready to jump out and attack him,” and said two more “Mexicans” went to a second neighbor’s apartment downstairs from his own, urging her to open Hoyer’s door so they could rob him. Hoyer said he went to his downstairs neighbor's apartment with the pistol in his waistband to “save” her from the “Mexicans.” When he raised his leg to kick the door, the firearm went off. The downstairs neighbor told police she heard the banging on her door. As she opened it she heard a loud bang, saw Hoyer fall to the ground and heard him say, “Ow.” When police arrived they found Hoyer walking from his apartment to his truck, with a gunshot wound in his left front hip.
He remained conscious and communicative throughout treatment at Central Washington Hospital. Medical imaging showed the intact bullet had skipped off the ball of his hip joint and plunged directly downward into his scrotal region, where it lodged. He suffered no apparent organ damage. It was one of two projectiles found in Hoyer’s body. The other bullet, he told police, was from from a previous gunshot wound. Hoyer has four prior felony convictions. He admitted having smoked about $50 worth of meth that day, and another $50 supply the previous day, police said. A search of his home found two .45-calibre revolvers, a rifle and ammunition, plus small amounts of methamphetamine, according to an inventory sheet. Hoyer remains in custody on $50,000 bail.