SAN ANTONIO — Obtaining a capital murder indictment in the killing of San Antonio ISD Detective Clifton Martinez created the wrong expectations going forward, the Bexar County district attorney's office says.
Pete Gallego, the communications director for District Attorney Joe Gonzales, said it was the wrong decision.
"In my view and with my experience as a prosecutor, the intake decisions at the time of the indictment, in retrospect, should have been different," Gallego said.
The former Congressman and state representative believes the conversation may have been different if they had taken the office's charging instruments in another direction. Gonzales came under fire from Martinez's brother for using what he calls "selective prosecution" in the killing.
"Why did he decide not to take it to trial? Why did he decide to reduce it from capital murder to aggravated assault?" Dennis Martinez asked. "What was his political agenda? What did he get out of it? How does that help criminal justice reform when all we do is encourage more crime by these types of decisions?"
'They chose to run him over'
Martinez worked off-duty at the IHOP at 739 Hot Wells Blvd. The 50-year-old was a respected SAISD detective who grew up near the restaurant.
"It's a mile from our house," Dennis said. "That part of it was unfathomable."
Martinez was killed on Dec. 21, 2019, after trying to stop a fight between two groups that morning. Officials with the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) said Alfredo Contreras-Martinez assaulted him.
Then, police say, Jorge Armando ran Martinez over twice.
"You have an opportunity to drive away. Go left. Go right. Leave," said Johnny Reyes, chief of the SAISD police force. "They chose to run him over. Back up. Run him over again to the point where he was lodged under that vehicle. Who does that? "
On that morning, 54-year-old Reyes, then a lieutenant, was a part of the operational command. He was called by SAPD about an emergency tone for Martinez. They wanted to know his whereabouts.
Specifically, police wanted to confirm the man under the vehicle was Cliff Martinez.
"And all I kept thinking was, 'I'm going to see him. He's going to be OK,'" Reyes said. "'We're going to get through this.'"
Lopez was arrested and charged with capital murder and drug possession. Contreras-Martinez was arrested the following day for resisting arrest. Three months later, the two were indicted for capital murder.
Dennis Martinez said he told his father the case wouldn't proceed that way.
"We can only assess that this was done politically because the district attorney specifically ran on criminal justice reform," he said. "And the best way to do that is to not enforce the laws with selective prosecution. We witnessed that from day one. I warned my dad this was going to happen, not to get his hopes up."
Lopez's charges were downgraded from capital murder to manslaughter in the Martinez case. For Contreras-Martinez, they were downgraded to aggravated assault of a public servant.
Lopez is serving a 20-year sentence. His codefendant was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
"These individuals were not held accountable as they should have been." Reyes said. "It was a complete letdown for me."
KENS 5 requested body camera and patrol vehicle videos from the scene. We received hours of footage from the intense incident.
The night of Dec. 21, 2019
Gabriel Suarez came to the IHOP with three friends from work, calling it an impulsive decision: They simply wanted to get something to eat.
"I felt that we should have taken another path," Suarez said. "I always think about that mistake, because we could have gone somewhere else."
Court documents and IHOP surveillance videos show he came with Joshua Diaz and Raul Moreno. In the video, the three can be seen going to the rear of the restaurant to wait on their coworker, Christopher Villanueva.
Suarez said that when Villanueva arrived, he claimed he'd been attacked outside. Documents show they joked with him until they realized he was serious.
The video from the restaurant's dining room also shows Contreras-Martinez coming in with a drunken Dearian Alanis, who was home from the Navy. After dropping him into a booth to sleep it off, Contreras-Martinez went back outside.
Detective Martinez is seen in his usual booth on his iPad while Villanueva goes outside to confront Contreras-Martinez.
"Those guys in the front. They pushed me, and they were like talking stuff, " Suarez said Chris told the group.
Jorge Lopez, Alanis and Victor Lopez were together. The friends had been out on the St. Mary's Strip, where a friend worked at a bar. They also came to the IHOP to eat.
The restaurant's employees told Suarez that Villanueva was getting beat up outside.
"When I showed up at the door, Chris was on the ground, and I was like, 'What are you doing on the ground?'" Suarez asked.
The confusion moved into the restaurant again. Martinez stepped up to try and defuse the violence.
Contreras-Martinez can be seen starting to grapple with the officer. Cell phone video shows him visibly taller and stronger than Martinez. Witnesses said he knocked the officer on the floor.
In the footage, Martinez pulls out an ASP, or baton, to deal with Contreras-Martinez. The suspect goes outside, and so does Martinez.
It would be the last time he'd walk out of the IHOP door.
Outside, Contreras-Martinez told police he hit the detective twice. Witnesses said the SAISD employee was face down in the parking lot as the two groups started to rumble.
Lopez, according to his account in police interrogation video, was driving his friend Victor's car. They got in and realized Alanis was still inside.
Court documents show when they got the drunk friend into the vehicle, Lopez took off and ran Martinez over.
"The guy in the driver's side was just looking and smiling. He took off," Suarez said. "He left... like, pulled out of there and ended up hitting the officer."
Witnesses said he backed up and ran over the officer again. By now, customers can be seen swarming the vehicle to save Martinez.
IHOP surveillance cameras did not record the fight or the car running over the officer.
"We ran up to the car, and we tried to pull the driver out," Suarez said. "A couple of people were hitting him. What's wrong with you?"
Lopez and friends ran from the scene, leaving Alanis behind. SAPD rushed to the scene.
The body cameras of multiple officers captured the incredibly enormous effort to lift the Nissan Versa off of Martinez. The cries, screams and straining can be heard as the rescuers ask police to lift the car.
They failed to make it budge off Martinez.
One rescuer ran to get a jack. Fast-paced clicking can be heard as rescuers struggle to lift the vehicle. Officers finally pulled the tearful people away.
"When you see your brother, your friend, someone that you've known for almost 20 years and had built personal relationships with in that condition," Reyes said. "There's nothing that prepares you for that. Nothing."
Martinez was eventually freed from under the vehicle and pronounced dead.
A burden of proof
"It clearly looked like a capital murder initially," Gallego said. "But as we got further and further into the details of the case, what could we prove? Each element of every single offense, you've got to prove beyond a reasonable doubt."
Even with more than a dozen witnesses, Gallego said seasoned prosecutors needed to be more confident they could get a conviction. He said Martinez had friends in the DA's office who wanted a conviction.
"There was more than enough there to roll that dice," Reyes said. "The DA's office just chose not to do that. And they also chose not to give us and Detective Martinez's family an opportunity to make that decision."
Reyes said the case should have been placed in the hands of a judge and jury. Gallego said it was too risky to gamble with an acquittal for Lopez and Contreras Martinez.
He points out a video placing Contreras-Martinez in a different vehicle that left the scene before Martinez was run over.
The Bexar County medical examiner's office said Martinez died from blunt force trauma. But, according to Gallego, they couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt how the trauma occurred.
Gallego did admit the DA's office could have gone with a lesser charge during the indictment phase.
An earlier chance to grapple with charges that Martinez's loved ones felt were beneath his service and honor did not guarantee closure.
"We didn't try. We didn't give them an opportunity," Reyes said. "Detective Martinez tried to the very end. He tried, and we should have honored that man that way."'
Lopez is eligible for parole in December 2029. Contreras became eligible in August.
Policy changes at SAISD
Martinez's death brought change to the SAISD police department. His body camera did not capture the incident that morning. The department upgraded to higher-end equipment, Reyes said.
His officers can also use department-issued equipment on off-duty jobs for safety and peace of mind.
The school district's radio and GPS technology is integrated with SAPD's for an extra layer of safety.
Martinez may never get the justice his loved ones believe is deserving of his death. So, they're celebrating his life.
He is scheduled to be honored by the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association with the Gold Medal for Valor in mid-November.
>Watch the full "A Capital Decision" special below