Armed Robbery of Hotel Guests Charges Dismissed
Imagine showing up for the continuation of your preliminary examination for armed robbery, and instead of a long litany of the things you’ve done wrong, the Prosecutor asks the judge to dismiss the case! Sounds impossible? Jesse R. Martinez probably thought so too, until it happened to him in the Bay County Circuit Court just days ago.
According to court documents, 31-year-old Martinez was accused of robbing three men at gunpoint in a Frankenlust Township hotel room. Two of the alleged victims were traveling from Louisiana and, based on their original testimony, it happened like this:
On Friday, July 24th, Robert C. Ollett stopped by the Econo Lodge to visit a friend. His buddy, Reginald J. Normand Jr. and another man, Corey B. Lamartiniere had just driven up to Michigan from Louisiana. They had come intending to meet up 30-year-old Heather M. Malone, whom they would take back home with them.
The men were together in the hotel room with Malone, who left at some point. Ollett stepped outside to grab his phone charger from his car but, realizing that he had left his car keys in the room, headed back inside.
As he got back to the room, he said that he noticed the door was propped open and a man was standing just inside the doorway with a gun. Unsure of what was going on, Ollett asked what was happening. Which is when he heard the man say, “This ain’t no joke. This ain’t no joke.”
The gunman then demanded money. But it turns out that this particular commodity was in short supply that day. So the gunman ransacked the room, presumably searching for cash. And after that it got a little strange.
One of the men in the room took off, throwing himself from a second story balcony. The gunman allegedly then claimed that the escapee was going to get shot, before racking a round into the chamber and asking the other occupants if they had perhaps thought that the gun wasn’t loaded. And the reason he gave for the hold-up? According to Ollett, the reason given was “You guys tried to gang rape my girl!”
The girl in question must have been Malone, who had left the room before the gunman showed up. She was later arrested, along with Martinez, and charged with armed robbery. Court documents claim that they are in a relationship together.
According to the Bay County Prosecutor’s office, the reason that the armed robbery, felony firearm and felon in possession of a firearm charges are being dropped is because of the alleged victims’ lack of participation. Judge Mark E. Janer did grant the request, dismissing all of the charges, including the armed robbery one. However, Martinez did plead guilty to an unrelated charge of driving on a suspended license. He was sentenced to pay fines and spend 30 days in jail, with credit for the full time already served. That’s certainly much better than spending years in prison for an armed robbery conviction.