Opinion ID: 59634
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Prosecution Evidence

Text: A police officer from Pharr, Texas, testified regarding his arrest of Martinez on September 19, 1988, while Martinez was in the course of burglarizing a convenience store. A Hidalgo County juvenile probation officer testified Martinez: (1) was charged with six counts of burglary arising from crimes committed June through September 1988, (2) received a one-year probated sentence on December 13, 1988, (3) was arrested less than a week later for another burglary, (4) once threatened the officer’s life, and (5) was committed to the custody of the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) on January 30, 1989. A former TYC case manager, who met weekly with Martinez during his subsequent stay at a TYC-contract facility, testified Martinez: (1) became enraged, threw his chair, and broke a 50-gallon aquarium in March 1989, when she denied his request for a furlough to visit his mother, (2) briefly escaped in June 1989, (3) habitually tried to stare down anyone who would not do what he 10 No. 06-70021 wanted, (4) was a “manipulator” who frequently tried to “sweet talk” her but would try to intimidate her if he did not get what he wanted, (5) had a problem with authority figures, (6) often talked back to officials at his TYC facility, (7) had trouble controlling his temper and aggressive impulses, (8) was intelligent, as demonstrated by his completion of his GED while under TYC supervision, and (9) was discharged from the TYC in May, 1990. A McAllen shoe store employee testified Martinez: (1) entered her store on the morning of May 30, 1990, (2) waited until a courier left the store, (3) followed her to the back of the store where he grabbed her around the neck and waist and held her tightly against him while she screamed and fought unsuccessfully for her freedom, (4) said he “wanted to be alone” with her and touched her breast and buttocks, (5) told her to stop yelling and pulled her down to the floor, injuring her back in the process, (6) finally released her only after she begged him not to hurt her and convinced him she was pregnant, (7) left the store only after she promised not to call the police and begged him to leave, and (8) threatened to return if she called the police. The store clerk also testified she saw Martinez walking along a city street on July 9, 1990, and identified him as her assailant when police brought him to her store later that same day. A McAllen police officer testified: (1) he arrested Martinez on July 9, 1990, (2) the store clerk identified Martinez as her assailant during a show-up that same date, and (3) Martinez was subsequently charged with attempted sexual assault. A former Hidalgo County adult probation officer testified: (1) Martinez received a probated 10-year sentence in May 1991, following his conviction for attempted sexual assault, (2) the conditions of Martinez’s probation included making financial contributions, reporting weekly, and participating in a weekly sex offender group program, (3) in early-July, 1991, Martinez stopped reporting weekly, stopped attending weekly group counseling sessions, and ceased working or making his required financial contributions, (4) after several months of 11 No. 06-70021 unsuccessful attempts to contact Martinez, he filed a motion to revoke probation in December 1991, (5) when law enforcement officers went to execute the warrant for Martinez’s arrest, he fled and was later charged with evading arrest, (6) Martinez never advised his probation officer he suffered from any drug or alcohol problems, and (7) Martinez pleaded “true” to the motion to revoke and was sentenced to serve a 5-year prison term. A McAllen police officer testified: (1) he assisted in the arrest of Martinez on April 1, 1992, on a motion to revoke probation, (2) when officers announced their presence at the front door of Martinez’s residence, he fled out the back door, (3) Martinez then led several officers on a chase through several backyards, over fences, and through alleyways, (4) the chase did not terminate until the officer, traveling in a police vehicle, interrupted Martinez’s attempted flight some three city blocks north and two and a half blocks east of Martinez’s residence, and (5) he arrested Martinez for evading arrest and pursuant to the motion-to-revoke warrant. A fingerprint expert testified Martinez’s fingerprints matched those on a pen packet admitted into evidence. A Texas Department of Criminal Justice parole supervisor testified: (1) Martinez was paroled December 2, 1992, (2) the conditions of Martinez’s parole included mandatory participation in psychological sex offender counseling and making three face-to-face reports to his parole officer each month, (3) a parole revocation was issued September 10, 1993, based on Martinez’s failure to attend sex offender counseling, (4) following Martinez’s arrest for capital murder, he waived both preliminary and final revocation hearings and admitted he was guilty of capital murder, and (5) while the conditions of Martinez’s parole included drug and alcohol counseling, Martinez never reported to his parole officer that he had ever been under the influence of either. Five Bexar County Adult Detention Center officers testified regarding a series of incidents in which Martinez violated the rules of that facility or 12 No. 06-70021 otherwise engaged in violent misconduct. More specifically, those officers testified: (1) on November 19, 1994, Martinez cursed and threatened a detention officer while the officer was escorting him to a visit; (2) on April 14, 1995, Martinez shouted and kicked a food tray out of the food slot under his cell door, spilling food across the floor; (3) on May 27, 1995, Martinez disobeyed a verbal order to stop changing the channel on a television and, when an officer wrote him up for that rule violation, profanely threatened to harm that officer’s family; (4) Martinez engaged in a verbal altercation with another inmate over the television during which Martinez assumed a fighter’s stance and had to be restrained by detention officers before blows were exchanged between the inmates; and (5) on or about August 21, 1995, Martinez attempted to assert “tank boss” status by demanding other inmates pay him with food for the privilege of using the telephone. A Hidalgo County psychologist who had attempted to treat Martinez in a sex offender program in 1991 testified Martinez: (1) was not a successful participant in the program because he would not often attend group sessions and, even when he did, he refused to divulge any information about himself, (2) showed a lack of progression throughout his life, (3) displayed a defiant refusal to admit he had a problem, which makes Martinez dangerous, (4) displayed an extremely poor ability to empathize with others, especially in situations in which dominance or control is an issue, which also makes Martinez dangerous, (5) showed no sign of having sustained any neurological injury or brain damage, (6) tested well above average on one intelligence test, (7) suffers from an antisocial personality, i.e., Martinez demonstrates a pervasive, non-flexible pattern of behavior characterized by the disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others, (8) Martinez’s antisocial personality manifests itself through his persistent unlawful conduct, deceitfulness, impulsiveness, irritability, aggressiveness, irresponsibility, and lack of remorse for his misconduct, (9) is not mentally ill, 13 No. 06-70021 (10) displays a powerful sex drive directed toward children, (11) refused to admit he had sexually assaulted the shoe store clerk even after he had pleaded guilty to that offense, and (12) poses an obvious danger to society. Belinda Prado returned to the stand near the conclusion of the prosecution’s evidence at the punishment-phase of trial and testified Martinez: (1) touched her on her breasts and vagina for five-to-ten minutes immediately after he had beaten Eric to death, (2) forced her into Eric’s bedroom at knife-point when she told him to stop touching her, (3) tied her hands behind her to the bed with a necktie, and (4) then wrote the note he directed her to take to her grandmother. Finally, a court bailiff testified: (1) on October 10, 1995, Martinez demanded to be placed in handcuffs because, otherwise, he was going to “go off” on his attorney and (2) two days later, Martinez threatened a prosecutor during a heated exchange before the trial judge.