San Angelo Man Sentenced to Three Years after Chasing Ex with Chainsaw

A San Angelo man, who assaulted his ex-girlfriend and chased her with a chainsaw, was sentenced to three years imprisonment in Judge Ben Woodward’s 119^th District Court on Tuesday, after pleading guilty to the aggravated assault of a household/family member with a deadly weapon and another felony.

Timothy Ross Martinez, 29, was indicted in July of last year for the second-degree felony.

According to a complaint filed with the court, Martinez’s ex drove over to his house on March 10 to retrieve some of her personal effects, such as clothing, and after she knocked on the door Martinez exited looking angry and grabbed her by the hair and began punching her in the face.

The victim was hit multiple times as she tried to escape, aggravating a black eye she had been given by Martinez only days prior, the complaint states. Martinez then picked up a chainsaw and advanced toward his ex, moving as if he were going to strike her with it.

Finally, Martinez threw the chainsaw at the windshield of his ex-girlfriend’s vehicle, causing it to shatter on impact.

When police arrived on scene, they spoke to the victim and later found Martinez hiding under a door at a residence a few houses down. He was booked into the county jail on a number of charges and remained in jail until June 27, when he was released on bond.

On July 13, 16 days after being released for the last aggravated assault charge, Martinez racked up another one when he contacted the same ex-girlfriend and said he was going out to look for her.

Meanwhile, San Angelo Police Officers A. Nandin and M. Faz were sitting in their cruisers  at the police station finishing paperwork, when Nandin heard and saw two vehicles drive by that appeared to be involved in a chase.

Nandin sped off and followed the chase truck, a white pickup, while other officers took off and stopped the lead vehicle, a black SUV. After stopping all the drivers, the officers were told two tales of what had happened prior to the chase.

According to the victim, who was driving the black SUV with an adult male passenger and her two children, a 6-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, after Martinez stated he was out looking for her, she saw him driving down Bell St. in a white truck.

In her statement to police, the victim said Martinez then began to chase her and intentionally crashed into her SUV as she was pulling into a parking lot in the 1500 block of Pulliam.

The victim kept driving, the complaint states, and was hit again in the back right of her vehicle, when Martinez rammed her again. As she continued to drive, her passenger suggested she head to the police station, which was not far away. As they neared, they were spotted by Faz and Nandin. Officers noted severe damage to the driver’s side of the SUV and reported that the victim had stated she was hit multiple times, which was corroborated by her passenger.

Martinez, who had been stopped by officer Nandin, waived his Miranda Warnings and told detective Brian Elkins that he did not know who was driving the black SUV. He then stated the anonymous driver had in fact crashed into his vehicle, and he gave chase to acquire the license plate number.

Martinez was taken to jail following the incident and charged once again with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was released two days later after posting bond, and then missed an Aug. 5 court date after which he was charged with third-degree felony bail jumping.

At his hearing on Jan. 13, Martinez pled guilty to the chainsaw charge and bail jumping and was sentenced to three years confinement apiece. Those sentences will run concurrently. The second aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge was dismissed as a part of the deal.

One of the conditions of the plea bargain is that he have no contact with the victim in the case either while in prison or after his release. During the hearing, Martinez’s attorney, Stephanie Goodman, explained a minor difficulty with the condition.

According to Goodman, Martinez’s ex-girlfriend has attempted to visit him on multiple occasions in the jail, to the point that she has been barred from visitation with her personal ID. The ban didn’t foil her efforts, however, Goodman stated that the victim has continued to show up with fake ID in an attempt to make visitation.

Martinez, she said, returns to his cell when he realizes who it is that is visiting him.

Recognizing the conundrum, Judge Ben Woodward advised Martinez to continue to avoid the woman, adding, “Follow the rules and make some responsible choices. Stay out of trouble, Ok?”

Martinez was then escorted back across the street in his orange jumpsuit.