Police arrested a 33-year-old man after a delivery driver was wounded during an early morning package stop in Cedar Hill.
CEDAR HILL, Texas — A 33-year-old man faces an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge after an Amazon delivery driver was shot twice while attempting to deliver a package at a Cedar Hill home, according to police and an arrest affidavit.
Samuel Laird was arrested Oct. 14, two days after driver Yirmar Martinez reported being fired on during an early morning delivery on North Cedar Hill Road. Martinez suffered injuries that police described as not life-threatening. The affidavit later provided investigators’ account of physical evidence found at the property and statements made during the investigation.
Martinez said she arrived at the property Oct. 12 and turned on her vehicle’s high beams while trying to locate the front door in the dark. She said she moved toward an access road and saw an armed man outside. Martinez told reporters that she tried to identify herself as a delivery driver by showing her Amazon vest and the package she was carrying.
Martinez said the man said something in English that she did not understand and then opened fire. One bullet grazed the top of her head and another struck her lower back, according to her account. She drove away from the property and was later found by police in a nearby parking lot. Authorities said her injuries were not life-threatening.
The arrest affidavit cited by FOX 4 says investigators found an AR-15-style rifle at the foot of Laird’s bed inside the home. Investigators also reported finding shell casings in the driveway that were compatible with the rifle. Pieces believed to have come from Martinez’s vehicle, including a mirror and plastic undercarriage components, were found in the yard area, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit also records statements concerning Laird’s condition before the shooting. His parents told investigators that they believed he was experiencing a mental health episode and that they had planned to take him to a hospital when police arrived, according to the document. They also said he had not been sleeping well and had begun reporting that he was hearing voices about a week before the shooting.
Laird later told investigators that he had been hearing voices saying people were there to kill him, according to the affidavit. Those statements describe what Laird and his parents told investigators and do not by themselves establish a legal motive or defense for the shooting.
Assistant Cedar Hill Police Chief Colin Chenault told FOX 4 that investigators did not believe the shooting was an act of self-defense. Police instead believed the gunfire was an attempt to harm Martinez, he said. Authorities have not publicly identified another motive beyond the information contained in the affidavit.
Amazon said it had contacted Martinez about available support and would cooperate with law enforcement. Martinez was working through Amazon Flex, a program in which independent delivery partners use their own vehicles to deliver packages.
As of Oct. 20, Laird remained in the Dallas County Jail on a $100,000 bond, according to the latest available reporting. The aggravated assault allegation remains a criminal charge, and the available records do not establish guilt. Authorities had not announced a final resolution of the case.
Author note: Last updated October 21, 2026.