David Martinezs cousins and uncles were forced to wait in the stark court hallway as their loved ones fate hung in the balance. And it wasnt usual for him to be up at 3am. There were cracks in their case and he would find them. **** IMPORTANT**** Check out the totally redesigned app!! Martinez had been assigned to a block that housed several other members of the Mongols. In the fall of 2017 David Martinez fired Edward Esqueda a man he would later call a liar who doesnt deserve to be called an attorney and the court reappointed Brady Sullivan as counsel. Sullivan had nearly all the pieces of a winning case. The video was recorded in June of last year, when, Ms. Santillan said, she felt scorned because her husband had been unfaithful and after she had obtained a restraining order against him for what she claimed was physical abuse. She later recanted the assertion. Judge Charlaine Olmedo sustained the objection, but she told Sullivan that he could play the video and audio tapes if they were edited down to exclusively include the parts in which Martinez was speaking.This task would be difficult for anyone. This case was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Courts with Walla Nori A presiding. It was even worse than living in fear of the Mongols. They now have chapters in nineteen states, stretching as far east as New York. On October 28, 2014, in San Gabriel, California, Mongols member David Martinez allegedly shot and killed Pomona Police SWAT Team member Shaun Diamond. Sullivan fumed at the counsels table, flipping through stacks of papers and wrinkling his usually pristine suit-jacket. When Sandra stepped down, David gave her a small smile as he folded and unfolded scraps of paper on the counsels table. Esqueda told the family that the whole situation was a police cover-up and he was certain that they would win in court. The lawyer appeared to be a Godsend. Former Mongols President David Santillan continued to testify. That line of questioning was immediately buried in objections from the prosecution. If he couldnt show them Davids mindset before the incident, he would settle for showing them the aftermath. Now it was up to Sullivan to make a final plea to the jury that could save his client from life in prison. As it stands, The Suit, Doc and Little Rubes have been permanently 86'd from the Mongols by president David "Lil Dave" Santillan, who says they are " out bad ". The drugs and the partying had gotten old. It was in the context of these parallel federal and local investigations that seven search warrants were served to suspected gang members residences on October 28, 2014 as part of a multi-agency operation to crack down on illicit club activities. The California motorcycle group had claimed that its former president, David Santillan, was a government informant. Later, he gave his kidney to save his son, Kellys life when he was in need of a transplant. A mother of a homicide victim whose case was worked by Lugo once said, God sent Ray because he never quits. That relentless pursuit of justice was why Lugo had been assigned to this case, one that was now the top priority of LAPD because it involved the shooting of an officer. And the flowers of spring. Our research centers on the study of fundamental fluid mechanics problems involving complex fluids and complex flows, typically on small scales. After two days, the preliminary hearing came to a conclusion. After speaking with his family, David was now convinced that the police had lied to him about the shooting. Moss and his partner loaded Diamond into the ambulance and drove off towards Huntington Memorial Hospital, sirens blaring as they left the active crime scene behind them. The current president of the Mongols Motorcycle Club is David Santillan, a man who claims that the organization has changed its code of conduct to exclude drug abusers and criminals. Then he took his questions one step further. When the movements were drilled into their bones, the squad packed up and headed to their target location. He's accused of being a confidential informant and working with the government during the Mongols' trial after his wife,. The DAs office only pursued the death penalty when the case was rock solid. The operation was considered high-risk due to the Mongols association with a wide range of criminal activities including the use of illegal firearms, meth trafficking, robbery, assault, and murder. 13.6K followers. The attorney wasnt an expert in criminal law but he told Martinez one thing: do NOT talk to anyone even the other inmates could be informants. Martinez wouldnt budge on his version of the story and Sullivan wouldnt change his strategy. Sullivan knew the danger of that story; he needed to unravel it to convince the jury of Martinezs innocence. Although Sullivan had legal clout, he wasnt one for excessive showmanship. After Judge Carters ruling, he declared vindication in what he said was a contrived internal political witch hunt to smear my name and to get me dethroned.. Corporal Richard Aguiar and Officer Diamond breached the outer metal security door of the home with a push-pull device called a ripram. Diamond turned to discard the device as someone inside the home opened the inner, wooden door. Until then, his job was to use his rifle to cover the window protecting the team from potential threats inside the home. He wanted to watch his children grow up and he was willing to do anything to make that happen, even if it meant confronting the horrific truth. But the prosecution was not done sewing. Desperate for more incriminating statements, Lugo interrogated David Martinez, but his story didnt change. It was fear of repercussions that kept him in the Mongols grasp. When it came time for Martinez to address the court, he stood before the judge in his jail-issued orange scrubs. When he spoke with members of the Pomona Police Department, love and support radiated from their ranks, but underneath a righteous anger brewed: outrage aimed at the man who killed Shaun Diamond. He promised he'd put his infidelities behind him, get sober and be a better father. But in this story, there are two sides to a single door. Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and public records. In 2021 it was revealed that David Santillan, president, had acted as a confidential informant for John Ciccone, an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Martinez lived in a two bedroom, Spanish style, stucco home with his parents, his sister, Brenda, who has Down syndrome, his wife, Sandra, and their two young children, Alyssa and David Jr. If Moss message had been heard, then the SWAT team may have waited for Arturo to open the door. In 2014, local Los Angeles and Riverside County officials were also concerned about the Mongols illicit activities. It was his bullet that stuck his fathers arm and blew through the officers neck. His Respect Few Fear None patch meant that he assaulted a rival gang member. With all this responsibility weighing on Sullivans shoulders, he arrived at counsels table for pre-trial motions. The prosecution also pointed to the fact that the President of the Mongols Motorcycle Club and several other high ranking members put money on Martinezs books while he was in jail. After reviewing the evidence Judge Olmedo ruled the tape of Martinez in the police car as inadmissible and refused to make a firm ruling on the admissibility of the Montebello or Perkins recordings. But he knew something that gave him hope during the time Esqueda served as Martinezs attorney, the DAs office had decided not to pursue the death penalty. Ever since David Santillan became the club president, in 2015, things have taken a better turn and it is said that now their unlawful activities have stopped. Eventually, Martinez was moved back to the Mongols cellblock where he continued to reside in fear but could at least sleep in peace for a few hours at night. Finally, a partial verdict was reached: the jury found David Martinez not guilty of first-degree murder. The Mongols claimed that Mr. Santillan had an inappropriate working relationship with an A.T.F. The government has filed a separate appeal on that issue, seeking a narrower forfeiture order that would take away the clubs right to trademark exclusivity over the logo. ATF officials view Santillan's public declarations about the club cleaning house as hollow words; they continue to treat the Mongols as a serious threat. Judge Rejects Claim That Mongols Biker Club Leader Was a Rat, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/07/us/mongols-informant.html. agent on the case, John Ciccone, sharing inside information about the club in exchange for lighter penalties for various offenses. Sullivan begged the jury to put themselves in Davids shoes, to imagine what they would do if they thought someone was forcing their way into their home in the middle of the night. Pacing before the jury, Sullivan explained that the evening of October 28, 2014 was a perfect storm in which a series of unexpected circumstances came together and resulted in tragedy. Talking to reporters he said, the patch is like a ring in a marriage, it symbolizes our loyalty and commitment. Ultimately, the Mongols retained rights to their emblem under free-speech laws, but the ATF continued to pursue other means of eliminating the Mongols brotherhood. If the chaos of the scene really was the perfect storm then Jim Moss testimony was evidence of the thunder and the lightning. Prosecutors sought to depict David Martinez as the embodiment of the battle between the Mongols Motorcycle Club and the federal government. The imposing man was persistent and thorough in his interrogation. The Mongols Motorcycle Club was convicted in late 2018 of racketeering and conspiracy. Deputy DA Jack Garden painted a straightforward picture Martinez was a gang member who saw the officers and took his shot. As the Mongols continued to talk, Martinez overheard a familiar voice echoing through the air vent. It was supposed to be a warning shot. He begged officers to tell him if his father was okay. Now the Mongols want a new trial and say their former president, David Santillan, was a confidential informant for the ATF.The explosive allegations come after a secretly recorded video surfaced of Santillan talking to his wife about the lead ATF agent on the case John Ciccone.Eyewitness News has obtained the video that was recorded in June of 2021 when David Santillan was drunk and despondent. Annie Yumiko Santillan Should you have any questions regarding Bail please contact me at +1 (626) 898-1447 or email at anniesantillan@yahoo.com. Suddenly, a shot rang out and Diamond was hit in the back of the neck. This was a massive win for David Martinez, but Sullivan knew it meant something more. Noyla dodged the question Theres no way to tell, he said. It was his friend, Raul, another alleged member of the Mongols, who had also been the subject of a search warrant that night and was currently being held in a neighboring holding tank. The case status is Pending - Other Pending. David had testified that he hadnt seen or heard the police and that he feared for his life. The coroners report showed that Diamond was shot in the back of the neck. For four hours David watched the SWAT team ransack his familys home. Second, police found a shotgun slug casing inside the Martinez living room, meaning that the shot that killed Shaun Diamond was fired from inside the house. Martinez explained that the night of the incident was pure chaos. 247w 1 like Reply exsc3076 I am a Santillan from San Diego what up primo 26w Reply September 29, 2015 Log in Over six thousand police officers, government officials and members of the public attended Shaun Diamonds funeral which was held at an arena in Ontario. I thought you were the Mongols. When Esqueda cross-examined the witnesses he floundered. First Name I dont find theres sufficient cooperation to merit overturning the conviction, Judge Carter said in a ruling from the bench. The explosive allegations come after a secretly recorded video. He was the assigned first man. After Sergeant Aguiar and Officer Diamond breached the metal security door with the ripram, he was supposed to be the first officer to enter the household. All rights reserved. First, all SWAT members serving the search warrant the evening of the incident were carrying rifles loaded with beanbag shot. And Richard Aguiar testified that upon entering the Martinez household he heard David yell Im sorry. Martinez grabbed the shotgun that he kept by the side of his bed and ran to the living room where his parents and sister slept. The recordings also proved that David didnt brag about his actions to the other Mongols at Montebello or during the Perkins Operation. I think there might be informants. Noyola was pissed. David Martinez fell to his knees and dropped the shotgun on the carpet. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Theyve also grown in criminal operations, having been convicted of illicit drug trafficking, money laundering, robbery, extortion, firearms violations, and murder crimes that have been exposed by undercover ATF agents who infiltrated the club. Keep it up! Insane Throttle Support Club Become a memberNow, Insane Throttle/Motorcycle Madhouse Radio YouTube and AudioDisclaimer, Meet the Insane Throttle Contributing Columnist James Hollywood Macecari, Motorcycle Clubs Riding Clubs and Associations Near Me Index &Listings, Our Policies here at Insane Throttle Publications. ATF officials view Santillan's public declarations about the club cleaning house as hollow words; they continue to treat the Mongols as a serious threat. Immediately Jack Garden objected to the use of the tapes, due to the fact that they contained hearsay from other inmates in Martinez holding tank and transit vehicle. The jury deliberated for five days. 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