A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge denied a request Wednesday to remove a prior conviction for a defendant accused of assault and false imprisonment in allegations from a 2024 armed standoff with a sheriff’s deputy in Castaic.
Plea negotiations discussed in open court were unsuccessful, and Raul Martinez, 45, is now headed for trial preparation next week, a clerk for Department I in the San Fernando Courthouse confirmed Friday.
A Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputy shot Martinez almost two years ago, after the deputy responded to a shots-fired call on the 28000 block of Parker Road, near Sloan Canyon Road.
The deputy’s statement in court records indicated he said didn’t have time to give commands to Martinez, who was holding his wife and child at gunpoint, when Martinez raised his gun and the deputy then fired once, hitting Martinez in the head.
Martinez stands charged with six felonies in connection to his alleged role in the Oct. 11, 2024, confrontation, including a prior conviction for a 2011 “Estes robbery,” in which he stole a package of Snickers from a 99 Cents store and then elbowed a loss-prevention officer who tried to stop him.
A defense motion filed two months ago stated the court had discretion in considering Martinez’s conviction along with his current allegations.
The 15-year-old candy theft conviction is significant to the defense because it could add additional years to Martinez’s sentence if he’s convicted of the more recent allegations. The prosecution said it should be a part of the discussion because it’s part of a dangerous pattern of behavior by Martinez.
Martinez’s attorney, Jason Najarian, argued in a July 6 motion that since his client’s release from custody in December 2024, he has followed all laws and completed a six-month parenting program, a yearlong domestic violence program and participated in 12-step meetings.
Deputy District Attorney Myle Phan filed opposition to the motion, stating that Martinez had a criminal record that escalated in seriousness over the years, starting with a simple trespassing charge in 2001, and then driving without a license years later, then carrying a loaded firearm, then spousal battery, prior to the aforementioned robbery conviction, and then another domestic-violence conviction in 2015.
Phan also argued in his opposition to eliminate the prior strike that, in the 2015 incident, Martinez tried to commit “suicide by cop,” leading Los Angeles Police Department officers on a pursuit and then pointing a BB gun at them to draw fire. In that confrontation, he was shot more than a dozen times by LAPD officers, according to Phan.
He also wrote in his motion that blood tests conducted at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital after the October 2024 shooting indicated that Martinez had cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine in his system when he was taken into custody.
Martinez sought mental health diversion for his case earlier this year, which was denied.
Due to Martinez’s multiple felony charges and his previous condition, he’s eligible for a more-than-50-year sentence, according to a previous motion from Najarian.
Martinez turned down an offer of 19 years, four months from the prosecution, which turned down a counteroffer of 13 years, eight months from the defense, according to the minute order for Wednesday.
The matter was continued to Tuesday, according to court officials, when discussion of a potential trial schedule is expected to reconvene.
