Man charged with murder in death of 2 teens in Moline

MOLINE, Ill. (KWQC) - Moline police arrest and charge a man in the shooting death of two teens Tuesday.

The Moline Police Department responded on May 5, to a 911 call of an unknown problem in the 1800 block of 31st Street, Moline, according to police.

Police said they found 17-year-old Giovanni Flores and 19-year-old Zachary Meincke, both of Moline, dead in the basement from gunshot wounds.

Moline police at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday executed two search warrants related to the investigation, Gault said at a media conference. One search warrant was executed in the 2300 block of 3rd Street in East Moline. The second was executed in the 1600 block of West 14th Street in Davenport, Iowa.

According to police, both residences were connected to each other, and in the same lead, the Moline Police Department was pursuing in connection with the case.

Israel S. Martinez, 20, was arrested for the shooting death of Flores and Meincke at the Davenport home, police said.

Martinez is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, Class M Felonies, two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, Class X Felonies, two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, Class 1 Felonies, and obstructing justice, a Class 4 Felony.

Martinez is being held in the Scott County, Iowa Jail pending extradition to Illinois.

“I am proud of all of our officers’ work in the relentless pursuit of justice in this senseless tragedy. There are countless numbers of officers to thank, but I’d also like to thank their families who understood the very long hours, weekends, sleepless nights, early mornings and missed time off while they pursued every lead to the end. This diligent and tireless dedication led to justice for the families of Giovanni Flores and Zachery Meincke. I’d like to especially recognize Det. Mike Griffin and Det. Brett Kopf along with Sgt. Dan Beaudry who led this investigation. Today doesn’t ease their pain in losing loved ones, but might give them a path to healing,” said Chief Darren Gault.

Gault addressed the media in a conference Tuesday afternoon.

“Although it is not a moment for rejoicing, it is a moment of relief for our impacted families and friends and for our community. We are thankful for the diligent work of the Moline Police Department to bring us to this point. This is a moment where we can all examine how we can prevent senseless violence and bring our community closer together,” said Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati.

Gault read a statement from the family of Flores at the media conference that said:

“The family of Giovanni Flores would like to thank everyone in the community for their support and dedication in bringing justice for Gio. We are grateful for every call, text, video and tip that assisted in this process. We would also like to thank the Moline Police Department for their tireless efforts in ensuring that this cruel act did not go unpunished. Our lives won’t ever be the same without Giovanni as his love and friendship spread to all who knew him and although we know our fight for justice is far from over, we can confident that our community will stand strong behind us for the sake of our children and families.”

The family of Meincke also wanted to state that they are so grateful for the community support.