Los Alamos Reporter

Joel Martin To Serve Four Years For Attempting To Run Down LAPD Officer In 2017

IMG_9624.jpgJoel Martin is pictured during an earlier court appearance. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com

BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com

Joel Martin, 32, who attempted to run down a Los Alamos police officer in August 2017, was sentenced Feb. 25 in First Judicial District Court by Judge T. Glenn Ellington.

Martin was one of two men arrested after they fled from the Smith’s Marketplace parking lot in a pick-up and ended up on Arroyo Lane. A shot was fired by Cpl. Robert Larsen after Martin ignored his commands and drove at him nearly striking him. The shot was later determined to be justified by District Attorney Marco Serna. After narrowly missing Larsen, Martin drove down the street running over multiple mail boxes before crashing into parked vehicles and rendering the truck inoperable.

Martin then ran from the scene and was located and arrested by LAPD officers.

Under the terms of a plea agreement, Martin pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon. On that count, he was sentenced to three years in prison plus four years as a mandatory sentence for a habitual offender. Judge Ellington suspended the three years and instead placed Martin on three years of supervised probation.

On the second count – aggravated fleeing of a police officer, Martin was sentenced to 18 months with the 18 months suspended and 18 months supervised probation. The third count – receiving a stolen vehicle earned him another 18 months suspended sentence with supervised probation as did a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon charge as well as a charge of criminal damage to property.

Martin was sentenced to a total of 13 years in prison with nine years suspended and placed on five years of supervised probation and parole as determined by law following his release. He will receive credit for 468 days of pretrial incarceration.

Additional charges of leaving the scene of an accident, shoplifting, conspiracy to commit shoplifting and false evidence of title and registration were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.