A 41-year-old man accused of trying to choke the life out of a Riverside police officer when she attempted to detain him during a domestic violence incident will be tried on charges of attempted murder, resisting arrest and false imprisonment.
Salvador Mario Martinez was arrested at the scene of the alleged Nov. 28 attack in downtown Riverside.
Following a preliminary hearing Tuesday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Charles Koosed found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on the three charges.
Koosed scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for April 1 and ordered Martinez held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.
According to Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback, the defendant flew into a rage, possibly while intoxicated, at an apartment in the 3600 block of Chestnut Street in the early morning hours of Nov. 28.
A woman at the residence called 911, saying Martinez was throwing items inside the residence, and patrol officers arrived within minutes, Railsback said.
When the officers tried to detain the defendant and remove him from the property, he became combative, allegedly grabbing an officer and “violently … choking her, almost to the point of unconsciousness,” as the two of them tumbled to the floor, the officer said.
“He continued ignoring all commands to comply as several officers attempted to stop his aggression and pry him off the female officer,” Railsback said. “He was finally taken into custody after force was used.”
The officer, whose name was withheld, was taken to Riverside Community Hospital and treated for moderate injuries from which she soon recovered. Another officer suffered minor injuries and was treated and released from the hospital that day.
Martinez was not hurt.
Riverside police Chief Larry Gonzalez said at the time that the alleged attack underscored the “dangers our officers face each day, especially when responding to domestic violence situations.”
Martinez has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
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