An East Palo Alto man who injured two police officers attempting to take him into custody for stealing two bottles of alcohol was sentenced to five years in state prison, San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Shin-Mee Chang said.
The man, Aaron Martinez, 31, faced 25 years to life in prison because of two previous convictions under the three strikes law, but a judge granted the defense motion to waive those prior strikes when considering sentencing.
Martinez was convicted in a six-day jury trial of felony assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, felony resisting arrest and misdemeanor petty theft.
Officers were dispatched to Sequoia Station shopping center at 1071 El Camino Real in July 2024, where Martinez was causing a disturbance, police said.
Martinez saw the officers and entered Safeway before they could contact him. Moments later, he left the store carrying two glass bottles of alcohol and, when questioned, struck the officer in the face.
Attempts by the officers to use their Tasers to subdue the man were ineffective, police said.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.