(PUEBLO, Colo.) — Court documents have exposed the disturbing details in the arrest of a Pueblo security guard, who faces charges of first-degree murder. The situation unfolded after police discovered a severed hand in his pocket while arresting him on Jan. 10.

Solomon Martinez, 26, was employed by DC Investigations and Security and was on duty at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center at the time of his arrest. According to court documents, the arresting officer “appeared shaken as he had trouble realizing what he had just removed from the jacket.”

Court documents say Martinez’s arrest came after a friend called police on the afternoon of Jan. 10, and reported witnessing him dragging a body down to Fountain Creek two days prior. Police later recovered the decapitated female body along Fountain Creek south of Cesar Chavez, and the Pueblo County Coroner has since identified the woman as Renee Marie Portillos, 47.

After refusing Martinez’s requests for help with the body, the friend said he took a video “to cover for himself,” which showed a decapitated female body with “blood around where the head should be,” lying on the side of the river. The friend provided the video to the authorities when he called the police.

Joshua Mazzurco, Martinez’s old roommate, revealed that Martinez met up with him at a car wash on the corner of Troy Avenue and Constitution Road the morning after the alleged incident, and attempted to bribe him into digging a hole.

“Hey man, you want to absolve $1,000 off your debt, I need you to dig a 10-foot hole,” is what Mazzurco said Martinez told him.

Mazzurco described Martinez as appearing battered, with blood on his hands and dirt covering him. Martinez allegedly used a car wash hose to rinse his bloodied hands.

In the moment, Mazzurco said he was terrified for his life but attempted to maintain his composure. Mazzurco had been allowing Martinez, who he thought was a trusted friend, to live in his home with his wife and three children.

“It’s honestly a shock to a lot of people because no one ever expected anything like this from him… He was a good guy,” said Mazzurco, who is now grappling with horror and dread having exposed his family to this man.

While in custody, Martinez reportedly stated out loud, “I had a hand in my jacket for two days.” Police found red smears consistent with dried blood in Martinez’s car, which he claimed was tomato paste. In an extensive police interview, lasting nearly three hours, Martinez denied killing or decapitating anyone, placing blame on the friend who reported him.

Martinez did admit to picking up a prostitute on the night of the incident and refusing to pay her. The woman he identified to police as the prostitute was the same woman police identified through the severed hand’s fingerprint and confirmed by the Pueblo County Coroner as Renee Marie Portillos.

DC Investigations & Security’s owner, Dan Corsentino, a former Pueblo County Sheriff, expressed disbelief, stating Martinez went through a multistage interview process and passed all background checks with no criminal history. However, Corsentino stated that Martinez was not a long-time employee, and had only worked for the company for a total of 52 hours.

“When you have an individual that commits a heinous crime and is arrested and he’s in one of our polo shirts it really is very discrediting to the business… But in the same breath, as I said before, I don’t know what else we could have done to try and red flag this individual,” said Corsentino.

After learning about the crime, Corsentino said he has ordered 150 new background checks on every single employee. He said he will also be implementing a third background check service to his regiment and another round of interviews with top investigators for new employees.

Andy Sanchez, CEO of the Arts Center, clarified that Martinez was not directly employed by the Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center.

Martinez is currently held at the Pueblo County Jail and had a brief first court appearance via Webex on Jan. 17. His next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23, where he is expected to appear in person.