Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez speaks in his office on Wednesday, February 19, 2020. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)
Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez was indicted Thursday and accused of resisting law enforcement and reckless driving, charges the sheriff denies and said are the result of a “political witch hunt.”
Martinez denied the charges in a written statement. He noted that an indictment is only an accusation, said his political opponents brought the charges against him and emphasized that he was not accused of public corruption.
“The allegations were initiated by a rival politician who has publicly demonstrated his disdain for me and the work that I do for the people of Lake County. As this matter unfolds, it will come to light that this is nothing more than a political witch hunt,” Martinez, 51, said in the statement.
In October, the Lake County Commissioners sent a letter to Prosecutor Bernard Carter seeking an investigation into the alleged misuse of some of the county’s new police vehicles. On Thursday, Commissioner Michael Repay, D-3rd, said the investigation into this incident was “thorough” and “occurred fairly.”
“The most important part is that the indictment is not the sad day. The sad day occurred when the sheriff thought he was above the law,” Repay said.
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As previously reported by the Post-Tribune, the state charges stem from a Sept. 18 incident in which Crown Point Police officers conducting a traffic stop at about 11:30 p.m. in the 9000 block of Taft Street saw a black SUV traveling northbound on Main Street “at what appeared to be at a speed well above the 45 mph posted limit.”
The SUV continued at this speed onto Taft Street in Merrillville, passing the stopped officers. In seeing the speeding violation, officers attempted to catch up to curb the vehicle, according to a police report.
The report continues, saying the SUV was seen making a right-hand turn onto eastbound U.S. 30 in Merrillville. As officers were catching up to the vehicle, the driver activated emergency red and blue police lights, giving notice that it was an unmarked police car. In seeing the lights, officers disregarded their actions any further.
The indictment states that Martinez “did knowingly or intentionally flee” from Crown Point police and that he “did recklessly operate a motor vehicle by driving at such an unreasonably high rate of speed as to endanger the safety or property of others.”
A grand jury met Wednesday and Thursday morning before reaching its verdict, said special prosecutor Stanley Levco. The jury heard from about 10 witnesses, he said.
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“They based the verdict on the evidence,” Levco said.
For nearly 30 years, Martinez has been a police officer and for the last four years he’s “had the privilege to serve as the elected sheriff,” he said.
“Those who have followed my tenure as sheriff know that I have defended this office from ‘wanna-be political power brokers’ and have remained steadfast in my commitment to maintain the integrity of the sheriff’s office,” Martinez said.
Martinez, who filed for reelection Wednesday in the May Democratic primary, said he will not be deterred or intimidated “by this blatant attempt to undermine” his reelection.
“I will continue to focus on ensuring the safety and security of the people of Lake County and those that visit here. When all of the facts are revealed, it will be apparent that this is nothing more than a smear campaign and an attempt to manipulate the legal system by unscrupulous and shameless politicians,” Martinez said in the statement.
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Council President Ted Bilski-D-Hobart, said Martinez is “a great law enforcement professional.”
“It’s unfortunate that it happened,” Bilski said.
Councilman Charlie Brown, D-Gary, said the situation is “unfortunate,” especially because Lake County has a “very, very negative reputation” across the state for the way public officials behave.
“The sheriff and I have not been the closest of comrades, but I wish him the best,” Brown said. “This is certainly not anticipated by anyone here that a law enforcement official would be himself charged with breaking the law.”
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said he’d heard about the indictment earlier in the afternoon.
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“I think he’s a great sheriff and I hope this issue works itself out,” McDermott said.
Martinez won a Democratic caucus in September 2017 to replace Sheriff John Buncich, 76, who was convicted on federal public corruption charges and resigned. Buncich is currently serving a more than 14-year sentence at a federal prison in Springfield, Missouri.
In the 2018 general election, Martinez defeated Republican Dan Bursac with 66% of the vote.
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