Duece Martinez of Cortez, who was arrested on a DUI charge in June while facing a domestic violence case, was granted a $500 bond on July 2 on the condition that he obey a protection and stay away from his girlfriend.
Martinez, 18, was in the 22nd Judicial Court for a hearing regarding his bond and a protection order violation.
Martinez’s attorney, Annalise Hodges told 22nd Judicial District’s Judge Douglas Walker, who was filling in for Judge JenniLynn Lawrence, that they wished to waive advisement on Martinez’s new case and asked for continuance on the pretrial conference for an older case.
Walker granted Hodges’ request but noted that Martinez had already violated the protection order, since his girlfriend was in his car at the time of the DUI arrest.
Hodges replied that the protected woman was with him because she felt unsafe at her uncle’s home and had called Martinez to pick her up.
Martinez has been working full time as a mechanic, said Hodges, and he could live with his grandparents if were out of jail on bond.
Hodges added that Martinez wants to get help with his mental health. She asked for a personal recognizance bond, saying Martinez knows he can’t violate the protection order under any circumstance.
Walker gave Martinez a cash surety bond for $500 on the condition that he comply with the protection order. He also is not allowed to cause issues for the witness and must stay away from her, her home and anywhere she frequents. He also is barred from firearms or ammunition, and must relinquish any he owns.
The court also vacated his arraignment date so that it could be addressed during his next court hearing, scheduled for July 18 at 11 a.m.
Martinez was arrested June 16 when Cortez Police officer Vance Carter pulled him over after seeing him driving with a blown-out tire in a 2006 Dodge Charger on Fourth Street.
While Carver talked with Martinez, he noticed two Twisted Tea boxes and several open Twisted Tea cans in the back seat. He reported that Martinez’s eyes were bloodshot and that he smelled of alcohol.
When asked, Martinez said that his tire blew out somewhere in Dolores County and while the vehicle had been towed to Cortez, he was now driving it to his grandfather’s home.
Martinez said that had consumed a beer “hours ago,” but he did not satisfactorily complete voluntary roadside maneuvers, according to Carver.
According to Carver, Martinez was driving with a suspended license and was violating a court order that barred him from possessing or consuming alcohol.
Martinez was arrested and taken to the Cortez Police Department, where a Breathalyzer test revealed his BRAC to be 0.036.
He was booked in the Montezuma County Detention Center on suspicion of violating a protection order, driving an unsafe vehicle, possessing open alcohol containers in a motor vehicle, illegally possessing alcohol as an underage person, DUI under the age of 21 and driving a vehicle under suspension.
He had been arrested on suspicion of domestic violence a few days before.
Police investigated a domestic violence call about 10 p.m. June 13 on Harrison Street, where they met Martinez’s girlfriend of six years, who told police that she and Martinez had gotten into a fight.
She said that it escalated, and he pulled her hair, punched her and pushed her to the ground. She had a abrasion on the left side of her neck and shoulder, according to officer Taylor Marston.
