For three weeks, officers took the stand. There were cracks in their case and he would find them. The last customer hadnt left until 11 pm. To them, this whole trial was founded on a fabrication by the police. Jack Garden was a robust man and a confident prosecutor. I think there might be informants. Noyola was pissed. And the festivities of Christmas. Representatives from several local law enforcement departments also said they had no such records. Jack Garden was quick to point out that the SWAT team only used beanbag shot. be admitted. Beanbag shot is considered less lethal ammunition its meant to incapacitate the target. The shooter should pay for that. He and his wife, Annie, were estranged after he had an affair. Yes. She recounted that Martinez was hyperactive and sweating. Keep it up! But Sullivan asserted that amidst that storm his client had acted in self defense: he shot to protect his family. Mongol's international President Dave "Lil Dave" Santillan said his club did not come to New Jersey to stir up trouble. Before moving to Annie's current city of Temple City, CA, Annie lived in San Gabriel CA and Arcadia CA. Now the court would balance the scales. In court testimony and in an earlier interview, Ms. Santillan said she had shared the video and the text with the Mongols in an attempt to destroy her husband but had since regretted it; she said she was not being truthful when she claimed he had been an informant. On the final day of testimony, Sullivan walked into the courtroom bleary-eyed but beaming. Jaime Martinez was part of the SWAT team on the porch the night of the shooting. The air buzzed with the hushed tones of dozens of different conversations each regarding a different case. Although the police told David that he shot officer Diamond, David was starting to have his doubts. Jack Garden tossed Jaime Martinez a question. How many times did you announce yourself? The look in the mans eyes, the way his limbs hung, the pitch of his voice. But after a motorcycle accident kept Martinez from working for several months, financial strain brought the family back under the same roof. On the third stop, Noyola himself entered the operation, determined to extract the information that the less experienced officers had failed to obtain. The interactions between client and attorney became increasingly contentious. Garden reiterated the narrative that Martinez was a gang member who saw the officers and took his shot with malice in his heart. When the movements were drilled into their bones, the squad packed up and headed to their target location. His 1% badge meant he considered himself an outlaw. Now the Mongols want a new trial and say their former president, David Santillan, was a confidential informant for the ATF. But Sandras one word answers and defiant attitude didnt deter the prosecution. Prosecutors sought to depict David Martinez as the embodiment of the battle between the Mongols Motorcycle Club and the federal government. In the wake of the preliminary hearing, David Martinez slowly awakened to the state of his feeble defense with Edward Esqueda. Available on GOOGLE PLAY CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FROM GOOGLE PLAY STORE. Jaime Martinez admitted to pointing his gun at the door. But in court on Monday, Annie testified that her husband has never been a confidential informant, rather she was just trying to destroy him by sending the text message to the Mongols. She added that David's mistress had been. He climbed into bed with Sandra and was just about to fall asleep when he heard a banging noise that rattled the whole house. The stakes of the operation had now dramatically increased. "He is a rat," Mr. Santillan's wife, Annie, suggested in a text message that became a key piece of evidence in the case against the group, which was founded in Southern California in 1969 and. Now the members in his bloc were restless, concerned that he was going to rat out mother the name for the Montebello chapter of the club that included the Mongols president, secretary, treasurer and the sergeant at arms. Each Mr. Santillan, a Mongols member for nearly 25 years who was voted out of the membership in July, and the agent, John Ciccone, who retired in December after 32 years on the A.T.F., deny that Mr. Santillan was performing as an informant through the trial, although Mr. Ciccone's sworn declaration doesn't handle whether or not Mr. Santillan had acted as a confidential informant prior to now. He called off the operation and Martinez was taken to his cell. The only illicit material found was a small baggie of meth and one stolen firearm. Maybe he wasnt responsible for a mans death at all. The room was already tense. Martinez didnt mind it made it easier to help his aging parents. After one year hes done and he cant protect me, so we have to have an exit strategy., Annie told ABC7 that her husband was spinning out of control and continued to cheat on her after the phone call. Most of the members were military veterans and all loved to ride their Harley Davidson motorcycles. Sullivan only needed to prove that the banging on the gate, the barking of dogs and the physical chaos of the scene made it impossible for Martinez to identify the cops. So if the inmate says something inculpatory then its inculpatory, but if he says something exculpatory then hes a liar?!. Each of the officers was a new battle for Sullivan, another opportunity for him to unravel the prosecutions narrative. One of the clubs defense lawyers during the original trial, Stephen Stubbs, testified that Mr. Santillan had told him during the trial that he was regularly meeting with Mr. Ciccone as the proceedings were going on, even as he was overseeing the clubs defense team. SANTA ANA, Calif. After federal prosecutors won a landmark racketeering conviction against the Mongols motorcycle club, in an attempt to put an end to the outlaw groups long record of murder, attempted murder and drug dealing, the Mongols countered with an unusual claim: Their leader, they said, had been secretly helping the government in its efforts to bring down the organization. Disappointed by the courts rulings, Sullivan remained resolute, diving head-first into developing his defense. This is a reprise presentation of our original post on November 13 of last year. The California motorcycle group had claimed that its former president, David Santillan, was a government informant. We came to understand that this trial was part of a much larger story, one that informed how Deputy District Attorneys on behalf of the People of California framed their entire argument. Maybe the shot he fired didnt hit anyone. Jack Garden delivered a strong soliloquy infused with the long history of the Mongols hostility towards law enforcement. He thought it was the Mongols. She informed him that his father was doing well after having surgery to repair the bullet wound on his arm. The judge found sufficient cause to move forward with the trial. He had gotten a late start on the paperwork because he had spent the day helping his parents clean and operate the family laundromat. Mongol Anthony "Bronson" Barrera, 43, was stabbed to death and two Hells Angels - Jeramie Bell, 27, and Robert Tumelty, 50 - were shot to death. Martinez got quiet. The Mongols Motorcycle Club was founded in 1969 in Montebello, CA by a brotherhood of Latinx men who had been excluded from the Hells Angels. But Sullivan knew that the jury would judge more than the seconds and the shot. One of those residences was the home of David Martinez. He wanted to be a father to his two young children and a supportive husband for Sandra so he let his motorcycle registration expire and he stopped attending Mongol events. Because I needed evidence to show the military that they had someone having an affair with a married man.. Noyla nodded. Martinez would be his last big case, the culmination of his years as defense counsel. The agitated rhythm of Martinezs life in jail was punctuated by court dates. Sullivans cross examination of Moss was a victory, but Sullivan wasnt slowing down. Then, after more than a month apart, Sandra finally regained custody of Alyssa and David Jr. allowing the tight family to rally together and to lift Martinez spirits. If convicted David Martinez could face the death penalty. So she sent the recording along with a text message to two members of the Mongols, explaining that her husband has been working with the government. She explained, In other words, he is a rat.. He begged officers to tell him if his father was okay. Santillan Annie Yumiko , filed a (n) Divorce,Separation - Family case against Santillan David , in the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County. During a Perkins operation, undercover agents infiltrate cells and/or holding tanks in order to elicit information from defendants. During all that time, the threat of the death penalty hung above Martinezs head keeping him up at night. He felt abandoned, waiting in Mens Central Jail as time ticked forward. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing . With no explicit confession from Martinez, Lugo called Officer Leo Noyola, the leading expert in Perkins operations. But his torture was not simply mental: Martinez was also physically assaulted and threatened. According to the California State Bar public records, Esqueda faced private reproval in 2001 for failure to respond to client inquiries, failure to promptly release a client file, and failure to keep a client informed of significant developments. They held hands and whispered prayers under their breath. Mr. Ciccone, who retired last year, testified that Mr. Santillan never served as an informant for the agency, nor did he pass on any defense information during the trial. Jack Garden called Sandra Roman to the stand. The video was recorded in June of last year, when, Ms. Santillan said, she felt scorned because her husband had been unfaithful and after she had obtained a restraining order against him for what she claimed was physical abuse. Justice would be served. After listening to Martinezs conversations with the Mongols, Detective Lugo was certain that Martinez shot the gun. Unbeknownst to him, she was recording the. After reviewing the evidence Judge Olmedo ruled the tape of Martinez in the police car as inadmissible and refused to make a firm ruling on the admissibility of the Montebello or Perkins recordings. If they saw him as a cold-blooded gang member, then chances of a favorable outcome were slim. The Mongols are equally mystified. **** IMPORTANT**** Check out the totally redesigned app!! Martinezs retrial faced further delays when the pandemic threw court schedules into disarray. This man took full responsibility for shooting a police officer. Do inmates sometimes lie because they know theyre being recorded? he asked. Insane Throttle Support Club Become a memberNow, Insane Throttle/Motorcycle Madhouse Radio YouTube and AudioDisclaimer, Meet the Insane Throttle Contributing Columnist James Hollywood Macecari, Motorcycle Clubs Riding Clubs and Associations Near Me Index &Listings, Our Policies here at Insane Throttle Publications. He had to focus on the gut-wrenching task at hand: his preliminary hearing. She added that she didnt understand what David was talking about in relation to Ciccone. And on the night or morning when you saw him in the office he was high on methamphetamine, correct? Sandra responded quietly. It was a colossal task for Sullivan who was, by his own admission, not stellar with technology. Statements like I didnt know it was the police, and they had no reason to come to my house, and I was just protecting my family bro, like anyone else would. The fragments of dialogue underscored Sullivans assertion that Martinez didnt know law enforcement was at his door the sentences pointed to his innocence. He is now reportedly planning a group bike ride known as a 'run' to announce his membership of the Mongols . A police informant (known as AV) also entered the holding cell dressed as an inmate and attempted to cajole David into bragging about shooting a cop. Last Name, The Trials of Harvey Weinstein and Danny Masterson. This allowed Sullivan to suggest that the cacophony of shouts and banging might have been unintelligible to the inhabitants of the house at 3:30 am. David Santillan founded the Mongols Biker Gang in East Los Angeles. Martinez didnt have much intel on the organization but the Mongols in his cell block suspected Martinez knew names and that was enough. He challenged Richard Aguiar about his training, insinuating that Diamonds death was the result of friendly fire. Armed with exculpatory information he found in the Perkins and Montebello tapes, he believed Martinez had a strong case. David had testified that he hadnt seen or heard the police and that he feared for his life. apply. Sullivan motioned to admit a recording of David in the police car in San Gabriel, a videotape of Martinez in the Montebello jail, and audio recordings from the Perkins operation. Bearded and brawny, Kozlowski was a former ATF agent who infiltrated the Mongols from 2005- 2008, during which time he went by the moniker of Dirty Dan. He described the Mongols illegal activities in great detail as well as their hatred of law enforcement. It was his bullet that stuck his fathers arm and blew through the officers neck. The slug went straight through Arturos arm and blew through Shaun Diamonds neck. Welcome to the Saintillan Research Group! On October 28, 2014, in San Gabriel, California, Mongols member David Martinez allegedly shot and killed Pomona Police SWAT Team member Shaun Diamond. In addition, law enforcement was busy attempting to curb the escalating violence between the Mongols, the Hells Angels and the sport bike club, G-Zer Tribe. Martinez grabbed the shotgun that he kept by the side of his bed and ran to the living room where his parents and sister slept. David told me that they had been meeting every day at Starbucks before trial until Judge Carter told them not to because a juror saw them together, Mr. Stubbs testified in August. Sullivan let the words hang in the air. Diamond was known as a devoted officer and a family man. Jaime Martinez casually responded, Yes, I pointed my weapon into the house. Garden quickly reoriented the question. Pacing before the jury, Sullivan explained that the evening of October 28, 2014 was a perfect storm in which a series of unexpected circumstances came together and resulted in tragedy. When Martinez took the stand, it was Deputy District Attorney Michael Blake who rose from his chair. Talking to reporters he said, the patch is like a ring in a marriage, it symbolizes our loyalty and commitment. Ultimately, the Mongols retained rights to their emblem under free-speech laws, but the ATF continued to pursue other means of eliminating the Mongols brotherhood. 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