Man who fled from court nabbed in Salt Lake City

Man who fled from court nabbed in Salt Lake City

May 3, 2001

By Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

A local fugitive’s run from the law came to an end in Salt Lake City, Utah, almost three months to the day from when he escaped from a Montezuma County courtroom.

Nineteen-year-old Charles Martinez was apprehended by Salt Lake law officers late Tuesday night at a bus station, said Montezuma County Sheriff’s Detective Lt. Kalvin Boggs.

"Somehow they had a tip out there that a fugitive was coming in on a bus and their fugitive unit met him at the station when he got off the bus," Boggs said.

Originally facing various felony drug-possession and distribution charges in Montezuma County, Martinez broke away from a sheriff’s deputy Feb. 2 while being escorted from the courtroom following a bond advisement.

According to the county court clerk, the judge had just set Martinez’s bond at $50,000 when he fled from the courtroom and out of the Justice Building at approximately 4:30 p.m.

Martinez led officers on a chase through several neighborhoods in Cortez that afternoon, stripping off his identifiable black-and-white striped prison uniform along the way.

The suspect reportedly braved the cold winter weather wearing only his boxers and knocked on residential doors asking for a pair of pants.

Both the sheriff’s office and Cortez Police Department made extensive search efforts during the days following the escape but came up empty-handed.

Shortly after the escape, county court Judge Christopher Leroi met with law-enforcement officials and adopted a policy that only four inmates are to be brought to the courtroom at one time and all are to be shackled.

Boggs said that Martinez will be transported back to Montezuma County as soon as arrangements can be made.

Martinez now faces an additional Class 3 felony charge for escaping.

Martinez’s 15-year-old girlfriend, Tabitha Gallegos, who was reported as a runaway the day after his escape, was believed to have fled with him. However, it is unclear whether she was with him at the time of his arrest in Salt Lake.