Judge sents 'shark' to

the tank



By JULIA WILSON

ALAMOSA — A gang member is a shark among sharks and must suffer the consequences for the bad choice of joining a gang, Judge Martin Gonzales said when pronouncing his sentence for Dylan Martinez Monday afternoon.

Martinez, 17, was sentenced to six years in the Department Of Corrections with three years of parole, both suspended, and three years in the Youth Offender System with twelve months of community supervision.

The YOS was established in 1993 as a middle tier between the Division of Youth Corrections and the Department of Corrections for young felons. It combines work, school, and pre-vocational and life skills.

In June 2009 Martinez was charged as an adult with attempted murder in the first degree, conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, both class two felonies; fourth degree arson, a class four felony; menacing with a real or simulated weapon, a class five felony; and violent crime with a deadly weapon, a class three felony for throwing a fire bomb at Daniel Cardenas. Police and subsequent testimony determined that the act was gang related.

Martinez plead guilty in July to fourth degree arson, and all other charges were dropped as part of his plea bargain.

District Attorney David Mahonee asked the judge to sentence Martinez to four years in prison, saying the severity of the crime justified the sentence. He said Martinez had already gotten a great deal when murder charges were dropped in his plea bargain.

Martinez’ attorney, Amanda Hopkins, petitioned the judge for leniency, citing the defendant’s good behavior and educational advances in the past few months.

Gonzales agreed with Mahonee that Martinez had already received “a heck of a deal.”

“As Mr. Mahonee pointed out, the original charge was attempted murder, a felony two, and he could have been found guilty,” Gonzales said. “We’ll never know, but he could have been.”

He said the murder charge could have resulted in a sentence of as much as 48 years.

“But for his bad aim somebody could be dead,” Gonzales said. “But for his bad aim somebody could have been mangled for the rest of his life.”

Gonzales said he could not look the public in the eye if he let Martinez’ act pass unpunished.

“Let’s put this case in the context that we have a problem in this community,” Gonzales said. “This case begs for every member of the community to look at themselves, to look around the community. If you see someone going down that path it’s time to step in before it is to late.”

Martinez made a bad decision to join a gang, and a worse one to throw the firebomb, Gonzales said. In the past few months he said Martinez made good decisions to continue his education and to be a help to the community and his family. But the future must be faced by Martinez, and only he can decide the direction it takes, he said.

“You can treat this sentence as a punishment,” Gonzales said. “But my hope is that you treat it as a way of redeeming yourself.”