Man convicted of choking infant with pacifier sentenced to 40 years in prison
A Lubbock jury handed a 40-year prison sentence sentence to a 20-year-old man they believe three years ago forced a pacifier down the throat of a 6-month-old girl who nearly suffocated.
Rico Martinez, who has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since his Aug. 15, 2019 arrest, will have to serve half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Jurors spent 18 minutes in deliberation on Friday before returning to the 140th District Court with their 40-year sentence.
Martinez faced five years to life in prison after jurors found him guilty on Thursday of a first-degree felony count of intentionally and knowingly causing serious bodily injury to a child. Jurors spent about an hour and 15 minutes deliberating on Martinez's guilt.
Martinez's conviction stems from a Lubbock police investigation that began on Aug. 19, 2018, when a 6-month-old girl was rushed to Covenant Children's emergency room after emergency responders went to an apartment complex in the 4600 block of 71st Street.
A firefighter and two paramedics who responded to the scene told jurors they were unable to dislodge the pacifier from the girl's throat but were able to loosen the object through back blows to slightly improve her breathing.
A surgeon told jurors she was finally able to pull the pacifier from the girl's throat with a homeostatic clamp after she was sedated.
The girl's mother told jurors she and Martinez, who she had been dating for a few weeks, got into a heated argument the night before because he and his friends were at their apartment after doing drugs and drinking.
She said the argument spilled into the next day but after calming down, she left her child with him so she could go to a grandparent's home to talk about insurance.
However, she said Martinez called her five minutes later saying her daughter was choking after swallowing her pacifier and was unable to remove it.
Trial coverage: Trial continues for Lubbock man accused of forcing pacifier down infant's throat
During the trial, jurors heard about versions Martinez gave to the girl's mother, CPS workers and police detectives about how the pacifier got lodged in the girl's throat.
The girl's mother told jurors that Martinez told her at one time that he was holding the child when she sucked the pacifier into her throat. She said he told her another version in which he dropped the child onto her crib while she had the pacifier in her mouth, which caused it to get lodged in her throat.
Martinez told the same story to police detectives during a recorded interview, which was played to jurors. He said he was still hungover and coming down from the drugs he took when he dropped the girl.
Martinez testified in both the guilt-innocence and punishment phases of his trial.
He admitted to lying to detectives when he said he did shove the pacifier down the girl's throat. He said he was afraid of the police because they were armed.
Martinez said he was being petty with the girl's mother as he sat in the hospital waiting room as the girl was struggling for her life and posted on Facebook an image of the cartoon character Tom from "Tom and Jerry" choking on an orange.
Others are reading: Lubbock father handed 18-month sentence for leaving children killed in 2018 house fire
He gave jurors a slightly different version of events saying he dropped the girl, who had a pacifier in her mouth, on the crib to go to the restroom. But he said he said he never made it to the restroom because he realized that he dropped the girl and when he checked on her saw that she was choking on the pacifier.
However, none of the medical experts, including the doctors who treated the girl, believed any of Martinez's versions were likely. They told jurors they believed someone had to have forced the pacifier down the girl's throat.
"You heard that from every single credible witness there is no question, this is intentional and knowing conduct," said prosecutor Cassie Nesbitt in her closing argument during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial. "He pushed that pacifier so far down that sweet baby girl's throat that today and this week you had to hear this horrible testimony."
The state's expert witnesses said that without intervention the girl would have likely died.
Once the pacifier was removed, the baby was put in a medically induced coma to allow her to recover.
Defense attorney Dan Warrick reminded jurors that it was Martinez's actions in calling 911 and directing emergency responders to the bedroom where he left the child alone and struggling to breathe that saved the child's life.
Warrick asked jurors during his closing arguments in the punishment phase of the trial to consider his client's age and the steps he's taken in jail to improve his life and move away from a criminal lifestyle.
Others are reading: Funeral set for 4 children as investigation continues into deadly Lubbock County fire
Martinez told jurors he was a member of the Bloods criminal street gang and participated in dozens of armed robberies, two car jackings and sold drugs and guns on Lubbock's streets.
There were no records of the crimes Martinez admitted to committing.
"It was just him testifying to committing all of these other crimes," Nesbit said.
He said he got out of the gang but while in jail on the injury to a child charge, got the tattoo of a five-pointed star that gang experts say is associated with the Bloods.
Prosecutors called jailers who told jurors Martinez was kicked out of the jail's Step-Up program after he stole a pair of scissors that they said could be used as a weapon at the jail.
Nesbitt told jurors that Martinez deserved a lengthy sentence but didn't asked for a specific number. Instead she asked them to begin their deliberations at a life sentence and then work their way down.
Warrick declined to comment after the trial.
She said after the trial that the sentence sent a message that hurting children was unacceptable.
"It sends a strong message of protection of our little kids here in Lubbock County of all the children and we appreciate the jury's time and thought that they put into that," she said.
She said Martinez never showed remorse or accepted responsibility for his actions.
Prosecutor Jessica Gorman said Martinez was the only person who knows why he assaulted the girl.
"When he testified about what happened he refused to take any sort of responsibility," she said. "So maybe down the line we'll hear something. But right now he's the only person who knows why he did that."
The girl's mother told Martinez at the end of the trial that she would never forget making the mistake of trusting him with her daughter.
"I failed to keep her safe," she said. "But you, Rico Martinez, were the monster that almost took her life."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: 40-year sentenced handed down in pacifier choking case
