Fortunately for Española Police officer Jeff B. Martinez, the job description for court bailiff in state District Court doesn’t expressly forbid an employee from being the target of a child pornography investigation.
Martinez, 35, meets the minimum qualifications of the job new state District Court Judge Sheri Raphaelson appointed him to: a high-school diploma or GED and one year of experience in a security, law enforcement or a legal setting.
However, Martinez was the target of an Aug. 20, 2008, raid on his Española house, in which State Police seized three cell phones suspected of containing pictures of a naked 14-year-old boy as part of a child pornography investigation. No charges have been filed in the case.
Martinez has been on administrative leave from the Española Police Department since that date. He successfully appealed his termination with the help of his then-attorney: Raphaelson.
Martinez will begin serving as bailiff for Raphaelson April 20 at the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse. That is the same day Raphaelson starts her appointment as judge, according to Stephen Pacheco and Lucretia Romero of the administrative office of the courts. District Court judges have sole discretion to hire their staff, Pacheco said.
Martinez was interviewed for the position April 10 and is an at-will employee, meaning he can be fired at any time, Pacheco said. Martinez, who will earn $12.01 per hour, replaces Art Espinoza, the bailiff for former judge Timothy Garcia, Romero said. Garcia was appointed to the state Court of Appeals in January. It is court procedure for judges to bring in their own staff, Romero said.
Bailiffs set the courtroom up before proceedings, escort jurors in and out of the courtroom, see that courtroom rules are followed and perform other related duties.
Meanwhile, the city of Española first heard of Martinez’s move Tuesday and from a reporter.
“You know more than I do,” Acting City Manager Veronica Albin said. “He’s on leave as far as I know. Maybe he has some intentions, but he hasn’t expressed them to me yet.”
Española Public Safety Chief Julian Gonzales has refused talk to the SUN.
Martinez is drawing a $39,249 annual salary while on leave and has been a police officer since 1999, city documents state. He became a school resource officer in 2004 and was moved to administrative duties in 2007 as a promotion, according to his personnel file.
The search warrant filed in August 2008 described a picture allegedly on Martinez’s phone of a naked 14-year-old boy exposing his penis. No charges have been filed in the case. State Police Lt. Miguel Aguilar explained Monday that the sheer amount of data seized on Martinez’s three phones is making the case time-consuming for its three-person online predator unit to investigate.
Aguilar said at this point it’s too early to say whether possible charges against Martinez will be for possession of child pornography, or more serious charges. He said he couldn’t comment on whether some alleged victims are out of the state.
“We have to talk to everybody that’s involved and try to figure out if there’s more than one victim and be able to sit down with them and talk about it,” Aguilar said.
Things are moving faster with the Law Enforcement Academy Board, which sent Martinez a notice of contemplated disciplinary action last month. Board Director Arthur Ortiz said Tuesday that because Martinez never responded to that certified letter, he has sent him a notice of final decision. Martinez has 30 days from Tuesday to respond to that notice and ask for a hearing; if he does not his law enforcement certification will be permanently revoked.
Raphaelson did not respond to a call for comment. Martinez has not returned multiple calls left on his phones since last August.
“We’re not consulted on those types of hirings,” Aguilar said of Martinez’s new job. “I’m sure if they went through their process of hiring and they decided he’s the guy that needs to be there, so be it.”