After two unsuccessful attempts to prosecute a Utah immigration agent accused of using excessive force while moving an inmate between cells, federal prosecutors are dropping the case.
Judges twice have thrown out the case against Jon Martinson Jr., an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah refiled charges after the first dismissal.
But in a motion filed Wednesday, prosecutors said they will not present the case to a grand jury for indictment "because other remedies are better suited to address Martinson's conduct."
Spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch said the federal attorney's office was not elaborating on what those remedies are.
Martinson said Thursday in a written statement that he is happy about the government's decision.
"I've been back at the job I love for several months now, and know I didn't do anything wrong," said Martinson, who had been on unpaid leave pending the outcome of the case. "I appreciate all the support that I've gotten from my many supporters, which helped me prove my innocence."
University of Utah law professor Paul Cassell, one of Martinson's attorneys, also said he is happy that prosecutors will not try to prosecute a third time.
"This was never a crime and should never have been brought into the criminal justice system," Cassell told The Tribune.
Martinson was accused of throwing Fabian Maldonado-Pineda face first onto a concrete floor as he and other ICE agents were escorting the shackled man to another cell on July 3, 2013.
The agent was indicted in June 2014 by a federal grand jury on one count of deprivation of rights under color of law for allegedly impeding an inmate's right to "be free from the use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer."
His defense attorneys argued Martinson was following his training by performing a "hip toss" when Maldonado-Pineda — who was charged with illegal re-entry by a previously-removed alien — pulled away from him.
In July 2015, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson threw out the charge, which alleged violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibitions against unreasonable search and seizure. The judge — who dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled — agreed with Cassell's argument that Eighth Amendment cruel and unusual standards should apply in the case.
Martinson was indicted again in September 2015, this time on an alleged Eighth Amendment violation. But in January, U.S. District Judge David Sam dismissed the case without prejudice after defense attorneys argued the second indictment was "defective on its face" because prosecutors did not allege Martinson's actions were "unnecessary."
Wednesday's motion was filed at the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, where Martinson had filed an appeal arguing that Sam's dismissal of the case should have been with prejudice, which would have barred prosecutors from filing the charge against him again. The U.S. Attorney's Office said in the motion that the appeal is moot because of the decision against pursuing the case.
Martinson's lawyers filed a stipulation Thursday agreeing to the dismissal of the appeal, saying it would be futile for the government to seek another indictment because the agent has committed no crime.
Maldonado-Pineda has filed a federal lawsuit against Martinson and the government, alleging his civil rights were violated. That civil case was put been on hold while the criminal matter was pending.
pmanson@sltrib.com
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC
Jon Martinson Jr., center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of slamming a man's face into a concrete floor, walks with his attorneys following a hearing, at the federal courthouse Wednesday, June 17, 2015, in Salt Lake City. Martinson has pleaded not guilty to violating federal laws and constitutional rights in the June 2013 incident. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
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