“The Product of Impulsive, Irresponsible, Exceedingly Immature Behavior, Rather Than a Serious, Contemplated Threat to Harm Police Officers”
An excerpt from Friday’s order by Judge Kathleen Williams (S.D. Fla.) in U.S. v. Martinez:
On February 29, 2024, Martinez was indicted on the sole count of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce … after uploading to his private Instagram account a thirty-eight-second recording of him inside his vehicle, pointing a sight-equipped firearm in the direction of a police vehicle driving ahead of him. In the Video, dated November 20, 2023, then twenty-one-year-old Martinez is heard saying “I’m on yo ass like white rice my boy,” saying, “red dot, red dot,” and laughing. {In fact, the driver of the police vehicle was female School Board Office Yovney Perez.}
Unbeknownst to Martinez, Miami-Dade Police Department Detective Danilo Fuentes … had created a profile impersonating a young woman, in order to gain access to Martinez’s private account as a follower. Though the “Instagram story” automatically became unavailable after twenty-four hours, Fuentes saw the Video.
Fuentes had been monitoring Martinez’s account for some time and knew Martinez’s identity, the type of car he drove, and his address. Fuentes called to check on Perez, who he ascertained was driving the police vehicle in the Video. Perez was unaware of Martinez until alerted by Fuentes. Although Fuentes testified to engaging in periodic surveillance of Martinez’s home, no notes were taken during these surveillance activities, no department-wide alerts regarding Martinez were issued, and Martinez was not arrested until two months after posting the Video. Martinez’s posting of the Video was charged as a true threat to police officers, generally.
At trial, the jury was shown the Video as well as a few dozen of Martinez’s Instagram posts from the months immediately prior to the Video. The posts included photos and videos showing Martinez holding firearms or pointing firearms at the camera, off a high-rise apartment balcony or towards a dog. Many were captioned with generalized violent language like “let’s go to war,” “eye for an eye,” and “Who left ’em dead inside the neighborhood? It was I.”
ATF Special Agent Martin Amaran … opined that the firearm in the Video was real and that the posts support the idea that the violence of the rhetoric was escalating. Miami-Dade Police Department Detective Angel Delgado … testified that certain red clothing and hand signs exhibited by Martinez in prior posts are gang affiliated. The jury also heard from Perez, who testified to feeling fearful upon being shown the Video after the fact. However, none of the posts identified Perez or mentioned the police in any way.
The defense called an investigator, Luis Fernandez, who testified that many of the captions included in Martinez’s posts were song lyrics of popular rap artists. Additionally, Martin Flores … testified as an expert to the diffusion of gang culture into rap and popular culture, especially a
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