Former Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin avoids prison time with plea deal
Jonathan Martin, the former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman who was charged with threatening Richie Incognito and other former teammates after he accused them of bullying him, avoided jail time by reaching a plea agreement on Friday.
According to the New York Daily News, a Los Angeles County judge ruled that Martin will need to meet with a psychotherapist and a psychiatrist and take an Alcoholics Anonymous program to have his charges dismissed after two years.
In February of 2018, Martin posted on Instagram a picture of a shotgun on a bed surrounded by shells. The caption read, “When you’re a bully victim & a coward, your options are suicide, or revenge.” Four accounts were tagged: Incognito, Mike Pouncey and two former classmates at Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles, where Martin went to high school. The hashtag “Miami Dolphins” lay across the gun.
Martin was charged with four counts of making criminal threats and one count of possessing a loaded firearm.
The Daily News reported that the judge granted Martin the deal after a prosecutor learned that Incognito himself supported it. Martin told the paper in a statement:
“I am thankful that this matter has finally come to a conclusion. I want to apologize to my high school alma mater for my reckless and selfish actions. I am eager to put this matter fully in the rear view mirror and to continue forward with my life. I plan to eventually speak more candidly about mental health, substance abuse, and selfishness, and ultimately about perseverance & personal triumph.”
The judge, Richard Kirschner, told the Daily News that Martin does “not pose a significant danger to public safety" and therefore was granted a mental health diversion program.
In 2013, Martin accused Incognito and Pouncey of bullying, and he left the Dolphins midseason. He later played for the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers before retiring in 2015 following a back injury.
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