September trial date set in 2022 Sterling residential arson, home invasion case

MORRISON — A trial date has been set for a Sterling man accused of stabbing a Dixon man and a Sterling woman several times on Dec. 10, 2022, after setting fire to a Sterling home’s attached garage and then forcing his way inside.

Matthew Martinez, 29, will stand trial on Sept. 17, 2024, on charges of home invasion, aggravated domestic battery with great bodily harm, aggravated battery with great bodily harm, aggravated arson, residential arson and arson. Martinez, who is represented by public defender James Fagerman, was set to go to trial on May 14 but was granted a continuance during a pretrial conference on April 24. At that time Martinez claimed that he was entitled to a tax refund, which he expected would be $15,000, and that he would use the money to hire his own attorney, according to court records. That pretrial conference was continued until Wednesday and a trial date set for July 17.

When Martinez, who remains in custody at the Whiteside County Jail, appeared in court Wednesday, Whiteside County Judge Trish Senneff said she would set a jury trial date of Sept. 17 but that would be the last time it was moved. She said Martinez, who continues to be represented by Fagerman, can hire his own attorney, but that the new attorney would have to be ready to go to trial on the September date. She said the case is almost two years old and needs to proceed to trial.

Martinez was charged Dec. 12, 2022, with home invasion and two counts of aggravated battery in connection with the case. On Jan. 17, 2023, charges of aggravated arson while knowing people are present, arson involving personal property and residential arson were added. On May 2, 2023, State’s Attorney Terry Costello again amended those charges to add attempted murder, which is punishable by 20 to 80 years in prison. The woman’s wounds were not life-threatening.

Senneff in September 2023 agreed with Fagerman’s argument that the state’s attorney was too late when he added the attempted murder charge to the home invasion, arson and aggravated battery charges.

That’s “143 days after the defendant had been in custody for offenses arising out of the same investigation ... [and] 23 days after the expiration of the applicable speedy trial term,” Fagerman said in his motion to dismiss filed July 20, 2023. The clock begins ticking when charges are filed. Under some circumstances, such as when evidence becomes available, charges can be added without harming the defendant’s speedy trial rights.

In this case, Costello argued that a search warrant for Martinez’s cellphone, which wasn’t obtained until a month after the stabbings, showed that he had the intent to kill before entering the home, and the attempted murder charge was filed when the results of the search became available. Fagerman pointed out, however, that the search actually was of a Snapchat account under the name “Chief City,” not Martinez, and that having intent before entering the home is not an element of the crime of attempted murder.

Among other legal conclusions, Senneff didn’t buy the argument that Costello needed cellphone evidence to support the attempted murder charge. By law, two or more related offenses known by the prosecution to be arising out of the same action must be charged at the same time and tried under the same prosecution. In this case, the state virtually would use the same evidence to prove attempted murder as it would aggravated battery – evidence it had from the onset, she said.

“The state was already in possession of timely statements from the alleged victims, who were stabbed multiple times, that during this incident [the] defendant made multiple statements regarding much blood and watching the victim die,” Senneff said.

She also agreed with Fagerman that a defendant’s intent before entering a building is not needed to prove attempted murder. Senneff also noted that she was not provided the contents of the Snapchat search, nor did Costello show that the messages were made by Martinez.

“The state did not argue that it had ... any other newly discovered evidence, other than the social media messages, the precise contents of which were not provided to the court for evaluation, to justify its late filing of the attempted murder charge,” Senneff said.

On Sept. 25, 2023, she ordered the attempted murder charge to be dismissed. Martinez has been in jail on $500,000 bond since his arrest. He has no previous felony history in Whiteside County.

Home invasion and aggravated arson each is punishable by six to 30 years in prison, while residential arson carries four to 15 years. One of the battery charges and the arson of personal property charges are punishable by three to seven years, the other battery by two to five years, and the residential arson by one to four years.