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SPRINGVILLE — Terri Yarrington was out of breath and audibly frightened when she called 911 a little before 3 a.m. on March 1.
"We got robbed, and we were cooperating with the guy," Yarrington told the dispatcher. "And my husband was finally able to get to his gun, and he shot him."
Springville police Monday released the recording of the 911 call in response to media records requests. The call was made just moments after Armando Martinez Jr., 31, was shot and killed after breaking into Doug and Terri Yarrington's Springville home at 763 S. 475 East.
Terri Yarrington told the dispatcher the intruder was in the couple's bedroom, where he was shot. "Is he breathing?" the dispatcher asked. "He's dead," Yarrington said.
The dispatcher later cautioned the woman not to touch the intruder.
"Are you sure he's deceased?" she asked.
"Yes," Yarrington said. "I'm positive he's deceased. … We checked his pulse."
During the 4½-minute call, the dispatcher instructed Yarrington to make sure the gun was placed where officers could see it, and that the couple stand by the front door and wait for police.
"They want us to be away from the gun," Terri Yarrington is heard telling her husband.
When asked if the intruder had a gun, Yarrington said, "He said he did, but we never saw one."
Police say Martinez had walked through the neighborhood, checking as many as 20 homes for unlocked doors before breaking into the Yarringtons' home. He entered through a sliding back door, which had been locked with a child lock. Martinez apparently disabled it by pulling hard on the door, police said.
We got robbed, and we were cooperating with the guy. And my husband was finally able to get to his gun, and he shot him.
–Terri Yarrington
Once inside the home, Martinez found some clothes that had been left folded on the couch, police said. He changed out of his wet clothes and into Doug Yarrington's clothing. He also made himself a tortilla and ham wrap in the kitchen, ate some of it and put the rest back in the refrigerator, police said.
Martinez entered the master bedroom and threatened the Yarringtons, who had been asleep, saying he had a gun, police said. The couple told police he demanded that they retrieve their wallets and keys and drive him to an ATM. Doug Yarrington walked into a closet under the guise of getting ready to leave, police said, and instead grabbed his 9mm handgun from the closet and shot Martinez, striking him once in the chest.
There were three children — 3-year-old twin boys and an infant girl — in the home at the time, police said. Springville Police Lt. Dave Caron on Monday said the Yarringtons are doing "as well as can be expected." He also said the family has moved from the home.
As you can probably imagine, they are having a tough time dealing with what happened. They are looking forward to when they can put this horrible incident behind them.
–Lt. Dave Caron
"As you can probably imagine, they are having a tough time dealing with what happened," he said. "They are looking forward to when they can put this horrible incident behind them."
Investigators are treating the incident as a case of self-defense.
Police said Martinez fits the description of a man believed to have burglarized another home in the neighborhood the previous week.
Martinez has a criminal history that includes convictions of attempted aggravated assault, theft, attempted damage to a jail and criminal mischief.
