For the second time, federal prosecutors have filed charges against a Utah immigration agent, accusing him of using excessive force.
Jon Martinson Jr. was charged Wednesday with deprivation of rights under color of law, accused of throwing a shackled inmate to the concrete floor face-first.
According to a federal indictment, prosecutors claim Martinson violated Fabian Maldonado-Pineda's Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment when the agent "maliciously and sadistically" threw him to the floor on July 3, 2013.
In July, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson dismissed the same charge against Martinson. But in the first case, prosecutors had claimed Martinson violated Maldonado-Pineda's Fourth Amendment right regarding unreasonable force during search and seizure.
Defense attorney and University of Utah law professor Paul Cassell successfully argued that because Maldonad-Pineda was neither be searched by Martinson and wasn't being arrested, the Fourth Amendment violation did not apply to his client. He said in court papers that it will be more difficult to prove a violation of Maldonado-Pineda's right against cruel and unusual punishment because prosecutors will need to show that Martinson acted with malice that day.
A federal indictment alleges that in July 2013, Martinson slammed Maldonado-Pineda "onto the concrete floor face first." But the ICE agent's defense attorneys contend that the incident was much more minor.
They claim that as Martinson was trying to move Maldonado-Pineda to a different cell, the inmate pulled away repeatedly, and the agent responded with a "hip toss."
The defense claims Maldonado-Pineda landed on his chest, not his face.
Defense attorney Jon Williams said Friday that his client "made a split-second decision to protect himself and his coworkers" that day. He called the prosecutors' decision to re-indict Martinson "unwarranted and unjust."
"The government's relentless pursuit of this case enfeebles rather than protects our community," Williams said. "We are confident that Jon Martinson, a man with an unblemished record of protecting our country's citizens while serving in the military and law enforcement, will be vindicated before a jury just as he prevailed before an esteemed federal judge just months ago."
Maldonado-Pineda was in ICE custody, having been convicted of illegal re-entry to the U.S., and was being moved to a different cell because he had been disruptive to other inmates that day, according to Martinson's attorneys.
No court dates had been set as of Friday.
jmiller@sltrib.com
Twitter: @jm_miller
