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Former New Mexico deputy sheriff gets 9 years in prison for kidnapping, sexually assaulting woman
A former sheriff’s deputy in New Mexico was sentenced Thursday to nine years imprisonment and another three years of supervised release for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman whom he arrested last year, while working in his official capacity for the Doña Ana Sheriff’s Office, authorities said.
Michael Martinez, 34, will also be required to register as a sex offender in accordance with the Federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. He was convicted and sentenced for violating the woman’s civil rights and for obstruction of justice.
Martinez pleaded guilty to both counts in April, the Justice Department said. The charges stemmed from his sexual assault of the female arrestee inside of his patrol car in April 2023, and his subsequent attempt to destroy the car’s camera system that had recorded footage of the attack.
“Sexual assaults perpetrated by police officers are heinous crimes and a disgraceful breach of the public’s trust in law enforcement,” said Kristen Clarke, an assistant attorney in the justice department’s civil rights division, in a statement. “This defendant’s misconduct — exploiting the power of his badge, weaponizing his authority as a police officer and sexually assaulting a handcuffed victim in the back of his patrol vehicle — violated the victim’s core civil rights and basic standards of decency.”
A criminal complaint filed last year and reviewed by CBS News described the crimes to which Martinez later admitted responsibility. According to the complaint, Martinez responded to a car crash on April 30, where a vehicle had struck a tree, and arrested one of the two women present at the scene for driving while intoxicated and careless driving. He transported the woman first to the sheriff’s office, where tests revealed her blood alcohol level was half of the legal limit, and a second sample proved “insufficient,” the document said.
Martinez then brought the woman, who was still handcuffed, to a medical center for medical clearance. Authorities say Martinez later handcuffed her again and moved her back to his patrol car, where he sexually assaulted her. He then drove the woman to the Doña Ana Detention Center and booked her.
Hours later, Martinez allegedly tried to destroy the WatchGuard DVR system inside of his car. On May 2, he reported a claim of criminal damage to his property to the sheriff’s office, saying his vehicle had been broken into and its DVR system was damaged or destroyed along with other technology, according to the criminal complaint. An investigation into that claim uncovered footage of the assault and of him attempting to destroy the recording system. He was fired from the sheriff’s office soon afterward.
contributed to this report.
CBS News
9/15: CBS Weekend News – CBS News
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What’s known about Ryan Wesley Routh, suspect in possible Trump assassination attempt
A picture is emerging of the suspect who officials say pointed a high-powered rifle at former president Donald Trump on a Florida golf course Sunday afternoon.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was armed with an AK-47-style rifle and was 300-500 yards away from Trump when members of the former president’s Secret Service detail spotted him, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. Routh was a few holes ahead of where the president was golfing at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, officials said.
Members of the Secret Service detail opened fire at Routh, according to law enforcement officials. It’s not clear if Routh fired any shots. Bradshaw said a witness saw a man jumping out of the bushes and fleeing in a black Nissan. The car was pulled over and the driver detained and identified as the suspect. Law enforcement found the rifle, a scope, two backpacks with ceramic tile and a GoPro camera in the bushes at the scene.
The FBI and U.S. Secret Service are investigating the incident, which the FBI said “appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”
As the investigation continues, here’s what we know about Routh:
A decades-long criminal history
Routh’s most recent address is listed in Hawaii, but he spent most of his life in North Carolina, according to property records. Routh owned Camp Box Honolulu, a shed-building company, according to his LinkedIn profile. The account also says that he studied at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and graduated in 1998.
Records show his problems with the law go back to the 1990s and include less serious charges, like writing bad checks. But in 2002, he was charged with a felony — possession of a weapon of mass destruction — according to North Carolina Department of Corrections records.
Between 2002 and 2010, Routh was also charged with a number of misdemeanors, including a hit-and-run accident, resisting arrest and a concealed weapons violation, records show.
Suspect criticized Trump online
Routh voted Democratic in the 2024 primary election in North Carolina, and he voted in person, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. He appears to be registered as an unaffiliated voter.
His X account, which has now been suspended, included a number of posts about Trump.
“@realDonaldTrump While you were my choice in 2106, I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving,” he wrote in a June 2020 post. “I will be glad when you gone.”
He also referenced the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump in multiple posts, suggesting that President Biden and Vice President Harris should visit the injured and attend the funeral of the Pennsylvania rally-goer who was killed.
A Facebook account under Routh’s name was no longer online on Sunday evening.
Ukraine supporter
Routh was passionate about fighting for Ukraine, even traveling overseas to fight in the country’s war against Russia in 2022.
“I am coming to Ukraine from Hawaii to fight for your kids and families and democracy.. I will come and die for you,” he wrote on X.
In one post on LinkedIn, he shared a photo of himself in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
A CBS News review of Routh’s social media shows his pro-Ukraine views seeped into his public statements as well. He urged people, even those who didn’t have military skills, to take up arms for Ukraine. He was interviewed by several news organizations, including The New York Times and Semafor in 2023, and Newsweek Romania in 2022. He was quoted about his efforts to recruit volunteer fighters to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, though it wasn’t clear whether he had succeeded.
“This is about good versus evil,” he told Newsweek Romania.
contributed to this report.
CBS News
9/15/2024: The Prosecution of January 6th; Danger in the South China Sea; Dua Lipa
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