A judge has ordered Joe Arthur Martinez to stand trial on attempted murder and aggravated arson charges resulting from a fire at the apartment of his estranged 18-year-old girlfriend.
A 16-year-old girl testified that Martinez urged her to throw gasoline down the steps of the apartment. Ten people were in the home the night of May 23, but all escaped serious injury.Second Circuit Judge W. Brent West ordered Martinez, a 49-year-old Ogden man, bound over to district court and scheduled arraignment for June 15. He refused to lower Martinez' $100,000 bail.
The girl, who said she's been a friend of Martinez for several years, is charged with the same offenses in 2nd District Juvenile Court.
In exchange for her testimony, the attempted murder charge will be dropped and the Weber County attorney's office will not attempt to certify her as an adult, prosecutor Rich Parmley said.
She testified that Martinez asked her to start the fire because he was angry his former girlfriend had told police he had kidnapped her 4-month-old child by another man May 16, then sexually assaulted her when she came to take the baby back.
Martinez had moved the 18-year-old into his house when she was three months pregnant, according to testimony, supporting her financially and staying with her at the hospital during her delivery.
The woman testified she had moved out of his home in March after the baby was born and the relationship degenerated into "fighting and arguing."
The 16-year-old testified Martinez instructed her to throw a three-gallon jug of gasoline down the steps of the apartment, followed by a lit book of matches.
She said he dropped her off at the apartment and told her to wait while he left to establish an alibi. "He told me to put the jug down and just go for a walk or something to give him a few minutes to go establish an alibi," she said.
Martinez then drove to a bar for a short while, then to a rendezvous where he picked her up, she said.
She testified that the stairway led to a door that opened to a common entryway for several other apartments in the building, not just the intended victim's home.
"I just threw the matches and ran," she said. "I didn't even get to see the fire start or nothing. I just ran."
The teen said she didn't really object to Martinez' request, saying, "I told him I wouldn't do it if the baby was there and I asked him, `It's not going to hurt anybody, is it?'
"He said no. He told me only the stairwell would go up and the fire department would be there in time to control it."