Man Arrested On His Birthday for DUI and Illegal Firearm Possession
Photo: Michael Martinez
The afternoon of October 21st, Michael Martinez walked into a farming business near West Mt. Whitney and South Dickenson Avenues in Riverdale and asked to use the telephone.
An employee of the farming business noticed Martinez appeared drunk and when Martinez headed back to his vehicle, the employee followed to try and prevent him from driving under the influence.
The employee’s instincts were correct. Moments before Martinez asked to use the telephone, he nearly crashed his gray Buick SUV into another motorist.
He somehow avoided the crash and launched his SUV into the air, approximately 20 feet according to witness reports, after which his vehicle came to a halt.
The employee who followed Martinez to his car decided to call the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office after spotting a handgun on the floor of Martinez’s car. The employee asked Martinez to stay put before stepping away to make the call at a safe distance.
Martinez did in fact stay put and when deputies arrived they called the California Highway Patrol to conduct a field sobriety test, which Martinez failed, testing more than three times the blood alcohol limit.
Deputies also found the gun spotted by the reporting party. It was a loaded, ghost gun. Ghost guns are assembled by piecing together individually purchased parts and have no serial number, making them untraceable.
Federal law permits this assembly process but California Department of Justice requires the owner of such a weapon to apply for a serial number, which this weapon lacked.
Martinez was arrested, on his 28th birthday no less, for driving under the influence and illegally possessing a firearm.
Photos from FCSO
