A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge held an 18-year-old Newhall man to answer to a single count of robbery in connection to a pair of alleged thefts the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station posted about on Facebook.
Alexander Gonzalo Martinez was arrested in May over a pair of allegations reported to the SCV Sheriff’s Station, both reportedly involving a popular brand of clothing called Supreme.
The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office initially charged two counts, as SCV Sheriff’s Station investigators reported there were two victims, and two separate people testified on the stand last week.
Station detectives posted pictures of a search warrant they served in May after the second allegation, which was investigated by the station’s Juveniles and Gangs Team, a Special Assignment Team and the Major Crimes Bureau.
“The search warrant followed an extensive investigation in which the suspect was linked to two robberies that occurred in Santa Clarita last month,” according to an SCV Sheriff’s Station Facebook post. The post included pictures of clothes that were stolen, which deputies returned to their owners, as well as weapons and tactical gear.
In both incidents, the victims indicated they had met up with Martinez at Creekview Park in Newhall, in order to sell him Supreme clothing, which retails for anywhere from $250 to more than $2,000 new online. And in both incidents, the victims reported that the suspect lifted his waistband as a way of brandishing a firearm, then took the clothes and left.
However, on Wednesday, after the first victim identified Martinez with “65%” certainty on the witness stand, Judge Pamela T. Usher approved a defense motion by public defender Chanel Call to dismiss the first of two robbery charges, due to the witness’ lack of certainty.
Deputy District Attorney Anwar Burton presented Usher with a photo lineup the first victim signed, but Usher said she didn’t have enough on how the lineup identification was made.
The criminal complaint did not list any charges in connection with the firearms that deputies reported finding.
Gonzalo Martinez remains free on a $40,000 bond. He’s now scheduled to be at the San Fernando Courthouse on Nov. 12 for his formal arraignment, when he’s expected to answer to the charge.
This type of incident and others like it in the past have prompted the SCV Sheriff’s Station to create a “safe exchange zone,” a monitored space in the station parking lot for online market transactions. “If you are meeting someone to buy or sell items, always choose a safe, public location and avoid going alone whenever possible,” according to the Sheriff’s Station post about the robbery in May.
