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Thread: Brandon Willie Martin Sentenced to LWOP in 2015 CA Triple Murder

  1. #1
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    Brandon Willie Martin Sentenced to LWOP in 2015 CA Triple Murder

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    Brandon Martin


    Triple-murder trial for former Rays prospect Brandon Martin scheduled for September

    By Nathan Fenno
    The Los Angeles Times

    The triple-murder trial for former Tampa Bay Rays prospect Brandon Martin is scheduled to start Sept. 25 in Riverside County Superior Court.

    The trial is expected to last at least 60 days, according to court records.

    Martin, a supplemental first-round draft pick of the Rays in June 2011, is charged with bludgeoning his father and two other men to death with a baseball bat in September 2015. Martin pleaded not guilty.

    During a hearing last week, Judge Michael B. Donner found Martin “has no financial resources whatsoever” and doesn’t have the ability to pay for defense counsel without public assistance.

    Martin, once a promising shortstop from Corona Santiago High School who drew comparisons to Derek Jeter, received a $860,000 signing bonus from the Rays in 2011. The team released Martin in 2015.

    A recent Times story chronicled Martin’s increasingly erratic behavior in the years after being drafted -- including drug use and attacks on his father, according to court records and interviews with friends.

    Two days before the killings, Corona police placed Martin on a mental-health hold at a psychiatric facility in Riverside. Martin admitted to officers he threatened his mother with a pair of scissors during an argument at the family’s home and choked her.

    The facility released Martin about six hours before the killings, saying he didn’t meet the criteria for ongoing involuntary detention.

    Judge Bambi J. Moyer found Martin mentally competent to stand trial last year. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if he’s convicted.

    Martin, 23, is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

    http://www.latimes.com/sports/sports...508-story.html
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    Trial Date Set for Former Pro Baseball Player Accused of Killing Three

    Brandon Willie Martin, a first round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011, is accused of using a baseball bat to kill three people

    By City News Service

    A Sept. 14 trial date was set Friday for an ex-minor league baseball player accused of fatally beating his father, uncle and a bystander inside a Corona home.

    Brandon Willie Martin, 27, allegedly used a baseball bat to kill the victims on the evening of Sept. 17, 2015.

    Martin is charged with three counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance allegation of taking multiple lives in the same crime, as well as auto theft, evading arrest, obstructing a peace officer and injuring a police canine.

    The Riverside County District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty.

    During a status hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz inquired whether the prosecution and defense will be ready to proceed to trial in mid-September, and the two sides tentatively agreed to prepare for proceedings.

    However, a motion to postpone may be made at a Sept. 4 pretrial conference. Martin is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

    According to evidence presented during a 2016 preliminary hearing, Martin had been experiencing unspecified psychiatric issues and was admitted to the Riverside County Department of Mental Health's emergency treatment facility on County Farm Road on Sept. 15, 2015, for an evaluation.

    Martin's admission came after he'd allegedly made threats of physical injury against his father, 64-year-old Michael Martin.

    The younger Martin was released from the facility two days later, and allegedly went straight to his father's residence in the 1000 block of Winthrop Drive, arriving shortly after 6 p.m.

    The elder Martin was at the property with his brother-in-law, 51-year-old Ricky Lee Anderson of Corona, and an ADT alarm company technician, 62-year-old Barry Swanson of Riverside, who was there for an installation consultation, police said.

    The defendant allegedly grabbed a baseball bat inside the house and went on a rampage, pummeling all three men. Michael Martin and Swanson died at the scene, but Anderson lingered in a coma for two days before dying from his injuries.

    After the attack, Brandon Martin allegedly stole Swanson's pickup truck and hid out overnight.

    According to Corona police Sgt. Brent Nelson, an off-duty officer spotted the truck in the area of Lincoln and Mountain avenues early the next morning and attempted to stop it, but Martin fled onto Derby Street, dodging several patrol vehicles whose officers tried to disable the Ford F-150 using intervention maneuvers.

    The defendant bailed out of the truck at the intersection of Darby and Buena Vista Avenue, near Foothill Elementary School, and darted into a home, where a woman was taking a shower.

    Martin tried to escape by leaping from a second-story window but encountered a K-9 officer and his dog, culminating in a brief struggle before he was forcibly taken into custody, according to Nelson.

    The woman was not injured.

    The defendant graduated from Santiago High School in 2011 and was selected in the first round of that year's Major League Baseball draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, the 38th overall selection.

    Martin played three seasons of minor league baseball with a career .211 average. He was released by Tampa Bay on March 26, 2015. Martin has no documented prior felony convictions.

    https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/l...three/2409952/

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    Trial Set For Ex-MLB Player Charged In Corona Triple Murder Case

    Brandon Willie Martin, 27, of Corona — formerly with the Tampa Bay Rays — is facing the death penalty if he's convicted on all charges

    Trial is scheduled to begin Monday for a former Major League Baseball player who is charged with killing 3 men in Corona with a baseball bat.

    Brandon Willie Martin, 27, of Corona was the 38th overall Major League Baseball draft pick selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011. But in 2015, he took a very bad turn, according to prosecutors.

    In March of that year, he was released by the Rays — and just 6 months later he bludgeoned to death 2 family members and an ADT alarm installer with a black wooden baseball bat engraved with his name, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

    Martin is charged with 3 counts of 1st-degree murder, and the DA's office alleges a special circumstance of multiple murders, with DA Mike Hestrin seeking the death penalty in the case.

    In September 2015, Martin was at the family's home on Winthrop Drive in Corona when he took the black bat to his disabled father, Michael Martin, 64; his uncle, Ricky Andersen, 58; and Barry Swanson, 62, the ADT alarm installer, prosecutors allege.

    Swanson was at the home to install an alarm system because the family feared Brandon, according to prosecutors.

    The bodies of the 3 men were discovered by Brandon's cousin who called 911.

    Brandon made a getaway in Swanson's Ford Raptor pickup, but the next day Corona police spotted the truck driven by the ex-big leaguer and a chase began, according to prosecutors.

    Brandon eventually ditched the truck and fled on foot. In his attempt to evade officers, he broke into a home, but Corona police eventually cornered him on Derby Street thanks to a police canine.

    The former MLB player is now housed at Robert Presley Detention Center is Riverside with no bail set for him.

    His trial begins at 9:30 a.m. Monday in Riverside.

    (source: patch.com)
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    October 27, 2020

    Trial begins for former California baseball star accused of killing father, 2 others

    By Sean Emery
    Southern California News Group

    Trial began Monday, Oct. 26 for a former rising Corona baseball star accused of using a bat personalized with his own name to beat his father, his uncle and a security technician to death, with a prosecutor arguing that Brandon Willie Martin turned his anger at the world toward his own family.

    Less than a decade after a 38th pick in the 2011 major league draft and a $1 million signing bonus seemed to secure a bright future with the Tampa Bay Rays for the former Santiago High shortstop, a now-27-year-old Martin faces a potential death penalty.

    Martin blew through the money, spending a good chunk of it on alcohol, drugs and expensive rental properties in Corona and Yorba Linda. His defiance toward minor league coaches, as well as his apparent mental issues, resulted in his release from his baseball contract.

    According to prosecutors, his anger grew and drug use continued when he was forced to move back in with his parents, with his alleged violent outbursts now aimed at family members. On Sept. 15, 2015, a family member reported alleged assaults against Martin’s parents and older brother, and an officer took Martin in for a mental-health examination.

    Two days later, Martin was released from the hospital, given a bus pass and told he was no longer welcome at his family home. That is exactly where he headed, prosecutors said, taking a bus, then walking for nearly an hour, to get there.

    Deputy District Attorney Michael Kersse began the trial by describing for a Riverside jury the violent deaths at the Martin family’s Winthrop Drive home in Corona of Martin’s father, Michael Martin, 64; his uncle, Ricky Andersen, 58; and Barry Swanson, 62, a technician who was at the home installing a security system that was meant to keep the family safe from Martin.

    “His anger toward the world, toward his circumstances, turned toward his family,” the prosecutor said. “The defendant was abandoned by the Rays, and now he was abandoned by his family. He was once a top prospect, now he was a man with no prospects.”
    The prosecutor described Martin killing his defenseless uncle in a surprise attack, beating Swanson as he tried to defend himself and then striking his own father with so much force that it left black paint from the baseball bat embedded in the fractures of the man’s skull.

    “He stole the personal belongings of these men as they lay dead and dying as he had already stolen their lives,” Kersse told jurors. “He ran from police in a dead man’s stolen truck.”

    Martin was arrested the following day after a police pursuit. He reportedly denied to detectives that he was responsible for the deaths.

    During the defense team’s brief opening statements on Monday, attorney Chris Jensen told jurors that they didn’t plan to challenge much of the evidence presented by prosecutors during the trial, but do plan to challenge their conclusions.

    In the years leading up to the killings, Martin was going through things he could not control, and had “significant mental health issues,” Jensen said. Despite Martin being taken in for what could have been an up-to 72 hour mental health hold, he was held for less than 48 hours, the defense attorney noted.

    “He was cut loose and put out on the street,” the defense attorney said. “Here is a bus pass, but don’t go home.”

    The first phase of the trial will focus on whether Martin is guilty of multiple murders. If he is convicted of those crimes, a second phase would focus on whether he should face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
    Prior to the trial, Martin’s attorneys indicated that they intend to focus on the second, penalty phase of the trial. They previously described it as a tragic situation involving a mentally ill individual who had been having psychotic episodes.

    Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019 suspended executions in California, effectively instituting a moratorium on the death penalty. Prosecutors still have the option of pursuing the death penalty. The power to actually repeal the death penalty rests with California voters, who have narrowly rejected such a move in recent year

    https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/10/...ther-2-others/
    Last edited by Steven; 11-05-2020 at 06:07 AM.

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    Former Baseball Player Found Guilty of Beating 3 Men to Death With Bat

    Brandon Martin grabbed a baseball bat inside the house and went on a rampage, pummeling all three men. Michael Martin and Swanson died at the scene, but Anderson lingered in a coma for two days before dying from his injuries.

    By City News Service

    An ex-minor league baseball player who used a bat to fatally bash his father, uncle and a bystander inside a Corona home was convicted Wednesday of three counts of first-degree murder, setting the stage for his penalty trial.

    Brandon Willie Martin, 27, killed 64-year-old Michael Martin, along with the elder man's brother-in-law, 51-year-old Ricky Lee Anderson of Corona, and 62-year-old Barry Swanson of Riverside on the evening of Sept. 17, 2015.

    After deliberating less than a day, a Riverside jury convicted Martin of the murder counts, found true a special circumstance allegation of taking multiple lives in the same crime, and further convicted him of one count each of auto theft, evading arrest, obstructing a peace officer and injuring a police canine.

    Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz scheduled the penalty phase of trial to get underway Monday morning at the Riverside Hall of Justice. The District Attorney's Office is seeking capital punishment for the defendant, who's being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.

    Testimony in the guilt phase of trial spanned just over a week, with closings by the prosecution and defense Tuesday.

    According to the prosecution, Martin had been experiencing unspecified psychiatric issues and was admitted to the county Department of Mental Health's emergency treatment facility on County Farm Road during the night of Sept. 15, 2015, for an evaluation. His admission came after he'd made threats against his disabled father.

    The defendant was released from the facility two days later and went straight to the elder man's residence in the 1000 block of Winthrop Drive, arriving shortly after 6 p.m.

    The victim was at the property with Anderson and Swanson, an ADT alarm company technician who was there for an installation consultation, stemming directly from concerns about safety in the face of the defendant's threats, according to prosecutors.

    Martin grabbed a baseball bat inside the house and went on a rampage, pummeling all three men. Michael Martin and Swanson died at the scene, but Anderson lingered in a coma for two days before dying from his injuries.

    After the attack, the defendant stole Swanson's Ford Raptor pickup and hid out overnight.

    According to Corona police Sgt. Brent Nelson, an off-duty officer spotted the truck in the area of Lincoln and Mountain avenues early the next morning and attempted to stop it, but Martin fled onto Derby Street, dodging several patrol vehicles whose officers tried to disable the Ford using intervention maneuvers.

    The defendant bailed out of the truck at the intersection of Darby and Buena Vista Avenue, near Foothill Elementary School, and darted into a home, where a woman was taking a shower. Martin tried to escape by leaping from a second-story window but encountered a K-9 officer and his dog, culminating in a brief struggle before he was forcibly taken into custody, according to Nelson.

    The woman was not injured.

    The defendant graduated from Santiago High School in 2011 and was selected in the first round of that year's Major League Baseball draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, the 38th overall selection. Martin played three seasons for the Rays' farm team and was let go on March 26, 2015.

    He had no documented prior felony convictions.

    https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/l...h-bat/2455014/

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    Jury recommends life in prison for former MLB prospect convicted of triple murder in Riverside County

    By Jesus Reyes
    KESQ

    A former MLB prospect for the Tampa Bay Rays convicted in a triple murder in Corona could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    Earlier this month, Brandon Willie Martin, 27, was convicted in the murders of his disabled father, uncle, and an ADT alarm installer at their family home in Corona.

    On Sept. 17, 2015, the three men were beaten to death with a black wooden baseball bat engraved with Brandon Martin’s name.

    Their bodies were discovered by Brandon Martin's cousin the next day who then called 911.

    Martin was arrested on Sept. 18, 2015, after police spotted him driving his uncle's Ford Raptor pickup truck.

    He led Corona police officers on a pursuit, before ditching the truck and breaking into someone's home, then jumping from a second-story window. He fought a police K-9 before finally being placed under arrest.

    Brandon's father, Michael Martin, 64, and his uncle Barry Swanson, 58, died at the scene. Alarm installer Ricky Andersen, 62, was pronounced dead two days after the attack.

    According to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, Swanson was at the family home to install an alarm because the family feared Brandon Martin.

    Martin was found guilty of first-degree murder and was eligible for the death penalty.

    Following several days of testimony and evidence, jurors came to the decision to recommend life in prison, rather than the death penalty.

    This is only a recommendation, the judge still has to decide on whether he agrees with the sentence. Life in prison without parole and the death penalty are the only two possible sentences in a special circumstance murder case.

    Martin is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan 29, 2021 at the Hall of Justice in Riverside.

    Brandon Martin was the 38th overall pick in Major League Baseball draft, selected by the Tampa Bay Rays.

    He spent three years in the minor leagues before being released by the team in March 2015.

    https://kesq.com/news/crime/2020/11/...erside-county/

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    Ex-MLB baseball pick sentenced for 3 baseball bat killings

    AP

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A one-time Major League Baseball draft pick received a life sentence Friday for beating to death his father and two other men with a baseball bat at a Southern California home.

    Brandon Willie Martin, 27, was sentenced in Riverside County Superior Court to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2015 killings in Corona. He was convicted last fall of three counts of first-degree murder.

    Martin was the 38th pick of the 2011 MLB draft. Chosen by the Tampa Bay Rays, Martin spent three seasons in the minors. But his career was marred by drug use and discipline problems, and he was released in March 2015.

    In September of that year, Martin suffered psychiatric problems, prosecutors said. He was committed to a county emergency mental health treatment facility for 72 hours but was was released a day early.

    Hours later, Martin went to his father’s home in Corona and used a black baseball bat engraved with his name to kill Michael Martin, 64, prosecutors said.

    He also killed his uncle, Ricky Lee Andersen, 51, of Corona and Barry Swanson, 62, of Riverside.

    Swanson, an alarm technician, was at the home to install an alarm system because Martin had previously been violent and the family was afraid of him, authorities said.

    Martin’s defense attorney told jurors that his client had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and had acted strangely for years.

    https://apnews.com/article/mlb-baseb...b8d3347fc20398

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