Texas cops let a man who stabbed a victim 15 times last month walk out of the hospital scot-free because he was “knocked out” and “pretty much in a coma” during the three days it took him to recover and flee on his own two feet.
Now the suspect is on the loose, presumably armed, definitely dangerous.
Beeville Police claim Gilbert Martinez got away because they were never notified he left the hospital, saying they “had no idea” if the department left any contact information behind so the hospital could notify them in the event the suspect was released.
“That I have no idea. I couldn’t answer that if you–I have no idea,” Beeville Police Lieutenant Jefferson said in a recorded telephone conversation with PINAC reporter Phillip Turner, admitting it would have been proper procedure to issue a warrant for his arrest before the suspect walked from the hospital a free man.
“Proper procedure would, uh, [have been to ] get a warrant for his arrest. If he was still conscious at the time he went to the hospital, and, he would have went to jail. Once he got released from the hospital and medically cleared, he would have went to jail that night.”
Martinez never saw a jail cell because a warrant was never issued for his arrest until after he left the hospital.
They just figured he would not wake from the coma he was put into by the man he stabbed and his friend during the attack.
But that’s exactly what the suspect did.
He walked right out of the hospital before Beeville police bothered to develop any plans to arrest the man in case he came out of the coma they say he was in.
“The thing about is was, during the course of the attack, he was knocked completely cold out,”Jefferson explained during conversation, blaming the local jail’s protocols instead of the department for not following their own protocols and procedures.
“The jail, most of their protocols wouldn’t have even have took (sic) him anyway,” Jefferson told Turner. “The doctor, from what I understand, didn’t even know if he was going to come out of that, uh, coma that he was pretty much in. Or not. So that, uh, that’s what we based our decision off of.”
Crime Stoppers has even offered a reward up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of Martinez, according to the Beeville Bee-Picayune.
The chief said Martinez has been wanted in connection with the stabbing of a local man on Jan. 2, 2017, using a knife in the attack.
The suspect is wanted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second degree felony.
Treviño has been told by members of the Crime Stoppers organization that they will offer a “good reward” for information leading to an arrest in the case.
The victim of the stabbing, Beeville, Texas resident Rob Washington contacted PINAC reporter Phillip Turner earlier this month after we published a story on January 8 that includes a video showing Turner conduct an audit while attempting file a complaint with the Beeville Sheriff’s department.
Obvious fails in that video resulted in the Beeville Sheriff firing the dispatcher, disciplining a deputy, as well as issuing an apology and more training.
It also resulted in the victim Beeville resident Rob Washington contacting Turner to share his story about the Beeville police department letting the guy who tried to kill him exit the hospital.
No questions asked by hospital staff or police.
Turner gathered the story over email and contacted him via telephone to gather more details.
On January 2, Gilbert Martinez, also a Beeville resident, stabbed Washington 15 times outside of his home, apparently out of revenge for his sister, the mother of Washington’s children, who was stabbed to death at a party held at Washington’s home in 2015.
But Washington said he had nothing to do with her death.
“He tried to punch my ticket,” Washington said. “He was in my house playing with my kid. You know, you would think he would have talked himself out of it.”
Washington said what came out in the local newspaper was a fabricated story citing the department’s narrative of events.
“He came to my house and basically tried to kill me. What came out in the newspaper was a fabricated story that said there was an argument that led to a stabbing. That’s already crap. You know what I mean?There was never no argument. [The] dude caught me outside and sabotaged me. At the end of the story, it says, oh, eventually a warrant will be issued for the guy for aggravated assault causing bodily injury.
“And I’m thinking how many times does someone have to stab me for it to be attempted murder?” Washington asks Turner, adding he was stabbed 15 times.
Turner published a video of the audio titled EPIC FAIL Beeville PD: Allows Attempted Murder To Escape to his youtube channel TheBattousai calling the case the “epic fail of the year.”
“Here is my problem and why they deserve epic fail of the year,” Turner explained. “During the incident, a friend of a Rob knocked Gilbert unconscious. The officers arrest Gilbert (unconscious) who stabbed Rob 15 times and take them to the same hospital and the officers leave. Not only was this a very dangerous situation, but Gilbert could have murdered Rob in the hospital. After Gilbert gained consciousness, he leaves the hospital and escapes. His whereabouts are not known at this time. Gilbert is being charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with bodily injury. Are you serious? That is Ridiculous. Attempted murder should be the charge.”
Since posting the video, fans and followers of Turner’s channel have taken to Beeville Police Department’s Facebook page, rating the page as well as expressing their thoughts and concerns about the case.
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