Car Salesman Shot In Jaw Still Haunted By Smiling Face Of Man Accused Of Killing Two Deputies

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A man who came face-to-face with the suspects accused of murdering two deputies survived his encounter after being shot in the head, but he still has nightmares about that terrible day.

Anthony Holmes wouldn't give up his car to the suspects, and that's when he says they shot him.

Police arrested Marcelo Marquez and Janelle Monroy hours later, but not before the couple allegedly killed deputies in Sacramento and Placer counties.

"Man, every time I close my eyes. Every time I close my eyes I see him," he said.

On the morning of Oct. 24, Anthony says Marquez had a crazed look in his eyes, a smile on his face, and a gun in his hand.

Investigators say that's when the couple were on the run after allegedly killing Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Danny Oliver and before the murder of Placer County Sheriff's Det. Michael Davis, Jr.

"I had to fight for my life," Holmes said.

The car salesman says he was sitting in his car at a doctor's appointment on Spanos Court in Sacramento. That's when he says Marquez approached him, demanding his car. Holmes didn't see a gun at first.

"And I looked at him and said, 'Man I don't know you.' And as soon as I said that he just shot me in my ear," Holmes said.

Holmes tried to get out of his car, but was trapped.

"And then when he shot me I'm just trying to fight him off," he said.

He even kicked at the suspect, but more shots were fired.

Holmes says Marquez eventually ran off, leaving him for dead.

Just inches from his brain, the first bullet ripped through his ear and lodged in his jaw. As Holmes laid in his car screaming for help, witnesses watched from a nearby medical office.

"They were looking on the other side of the glass, looking at me, and they couldn't do nothing," he said.

One of them called 911.

"I'd like to say thank you. Thank you. He saved my life too," he said.

Holmes says every time he closes his eyes, he sees Marquez's smiling face and the gun pointed at his head.

The suspects are both in jail without bail. Monroy is in the Sacramento County Jail, while Marquez was transferred to El Dorado County Jail on Wednesday.