5/28/09
An Alcalde man who allegedly stabbed a Santa Fe man in the chest last year has avoided prison time by pleading guilty to a lesser charge, according to court documents.
Ben Martinez, 24, pleaded guilty April 15 in state District Court to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon for allegedly stabbing Samuel Maldonado Aug. 31, 2008, outside of Red’s Tavern in Española. Martinez had also been charged with attempted murder and tampering with evidence.
As part of his plea agreement, Martinez’s three-year prison sentence was suspended except for the time he had already served on electronic monitoring — seven-and-a-half months.
Martinez was allegedly hassling a woman named Sandy Gallegos in the Española bar throughout the evening of Aug. 31 and attempting to get her to leave with him. Martinez left the bar, thinking Gallegos would leave too. But when he tried to come back in the bar when she didn’t leave, he wasn’t allowed.
Red’s security guard Alfonso Forget escorted Gallegos and Maldonado, 36, out of the bar when they wanted to leave later on that night, in case Martinez was still outside. Martinez allegedly reached around Forget and stabbed Maldonado in the chest.
Red’s bartender Sandy Gonzales used rags to control Maldonado’s bleeding until paramedics arrived on scene. Española Hospital doctors told Española Police Sgt. Christian Lopez that Maldonado’s right lung collapsed and he lost a severe amount of blood. He was released from the hospital a little over a week later.
Martinez was taken off electronic monitoring the same day he entered his plea deal.
Neither Martinez’s attorney Tom Clark nor Assistant District Attorney Kathryn Thwaits returned calls for comment.