8/20/09
An Española man who was scheduled to stand trial this month for allegedly pistol-whipping a Big Rock Casino security guard is on the run from authorities, according to the District Attorney’s office.
Elmer Martinez, 25, of Española, absconded from electronic monitoring in July, about two months after a plea deal his public defender, Paul Branch, and prosecutor Timothy Hasson had agreed to was blocked by state District Court Judge Sheri Raphaelson. However, Raphaelson accidentally held onto the pleadings and signed them, prompting Hasson to file a motion to set aside the judgment and sentence, he said.
Martinez ripped off the electronic monitoring device attached to his ankle July 15 and skipped a court-ordered urinalysis set for the next day, Hasson said. Then he failed to attend an Aug. 13 hearing at the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse at which he had been ordered to appear.
Branch said Martinez failed to comply with the electronic monitoring because he couldn’t afford the fee of $15 per day. Hasson said if that was the case, then Branch should have filed a motion to change Martinez’s conditions of release, and Martinez should not have cut off the device and ignored court appearances.
“Honestly I think he’s scared because the court rejected the plea agreement, and that he’ll be arrested no matter what,” Branch said in court.
Raphaelson had rejected a deal that would have allowed Martinez to plead guilty to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and serve a sentence of one year either in prison or on electronic monitoring, with credit for 170 days, plus three years of supervised probation. She said the sentence was too lenient in view of Martinez’s previous felony convictions, Hasson said.
In 2006, Martinez pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery, three counts of conspiracy and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to an online court records database. In 2004, he pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit a violent felony and four counts of criminal damage to property.
Martinez’s latest case stems from a June 26, 2008, incident in which he allegedly struck security guard Lonnie Vinton on the head with a handgun after Vinton and fellow guard Ray Jenkins approached Martinez for acting suspiciously in Big Rock’s parking lot, court documents state. Vinton sustained a large cut during the attack, a police report states.
Martinez fled the scene and was later identified from a surveillance video, the report states.
Martinez was eventually arrested Nov. 26, 2008, and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence, documents state. He was released from jail in January 2009 but kept on electronic monitoring, according to court documents.
Martinez’s case had been scheduled for jury selection Aug. 24, and will now be rescheduled whenever he is arrested, Raphaelson said. He has not been charged with any new crimes for absconding.
A warrant has been issued for Martinez’s arrest. On Aug. 7, a woman claiming to be Martinez’s ex-girlfriend called 911 in Española, saying he was harassing her over the phone from the state of Washington, according to dispatch logs. She noted that Martinez had a police scanner with him.