LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas State Police detectives are investigating the first homicide in Conway this year after they found a man shot in his truck on the median of Interstate 40 early Sunday.

Jose Martinez, 31, of Conway, was taken from his truck on I-40 west near Dave Ward Drive and transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 5 a.m., according to state police.

State police spokesman Bill Sadler said that troopers were first called to that stretch of interstate after a driver called in to report a drunken driver in a black Nissan pickup, just after 5 a.m.

They then got a second call by someone wanting to report that the same type of truck had been in a wreck.

Sadler said the first trooper on scene found the truck against a retaining wall in the median of the road, and Martinez was in the driver’s seat.

According to Faulkner County Coroner Patrick Moore, Martinez’s body was sent to the State Crime Laboratory for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of his death.

Sadler said that detectives’ “preliminary” findings suggest someone pulled up alongside Martinez’s truck and shot him.

The truck was still being processed as evidence Sunday afternoon, Sadler said.

Sadler said it’s too early to tell what led to the shooting, what Martinez was doing on the road at 5 a.m. or whether he had a passenger.

Sadler said anyone driving in that area who might have seen suspicious activity should contact law enforcement immediately.

Arkansas, Pages 12 on 02/11/2013