Martinez suspended indefinitely

[Lost Poke]

Well, guys, this really does hurt the guy. Of course, not as much as the moron whose jaw is wired shut.

Sorry, Luke, but you blew it, man. Why go after a guy on the ground? I understand about being PO'd and all, I've been there, but some things just don't get excused.

Assuming he doesn't have a history of this type of thing, I hope he gets a plea deal to a misdemeanor so he doesn't carry it through life as a convicted felon. But I really don't think we can get this guy back on the team.

 

[BeaverPoke]

The witnesses are EMPLOYEES of the Buckhorn and will likely be considered neutral witnesses, not good for Martinez.

The employees at the Buckhorn are incompetent idiots. Making it even worse for Luke.

Stupid whores...

 

[COS Cowboy]

The witnesses are EMPLOYEES of the Buckhorn and will likely be considered neutral witnesses, not good for Martinez.

The employees at the Buckhorn are incompetent idiots. Making it even worse for Luke.

Stupid whores...

Sounds to me like they saw what they saw. Why would they make it up? Sounds like Luke admitted it eventually.

 

[OrediggerPoke]

The witnesses are EMPLOYEES of the Buckhorn and will likely be considered neutral witnesses, not good for Martinez.

The employees at the Buckhorn are incompetent idiots. Making it even worse for Luke.

Stupid whores...

That's a ridiculous statement. Are you suggesting that they shouldn't state what they witnessed to protect an athlete?

I hope the bartenders are supported for coming forward. I would be sickened if other members of the campus and community turned on the bartenders. If these facts are true, the victim could have been seriously seriosuly injured for life. If I am in Laramie anytime soon, I will try to make it a point to come in and provide a generous tip to her/him/them for their courage to state what they witnessed.

 

[BackHarlowRoad]

I hope the bartenders are supported for coming forward. I would be sickened if other members of the campus and community turned on the bartenders. If these facts are true, the victim could have been seriously seriosuly injured for life. If I am in Laramie anytime soon, I will try to make it a point to come in and provide a generous tip to her/him/them for their courage to state what they witnessed.

If the truth is what they speak, and it is certainly sounds like it is, good for them.

It's sad that some of the fan base supports letting stuff like this slide just for the sake of athletic team. No one is "making it worse" for Luke if all they are doing is stating the facts. Only one person is responsible for this. Just one.

 

[Cowduck]

I am a criminal defense attorney. Luke is in some trouble. Any criminal defense attorney will tell you that some of the hardest evidence for a defendant to deal with is admissions by the defendant. The only way to make them go away is a Miranda violation or some sort of argument that the admissions were not voluntarily made. It's hard to make the latter argument if Luke is hanging around the bar after the fight waiting to give a statement to the fuzz. I have no information on if he was Mirandized but a defendant has to be in custody to necessitate Miranda warnings - something that isn't likely again based on the information that he stayed at the bar and talked voluntarily to police and wasn't arrested at the time - I doubt they cuffed him or did anything to make him feel like he wasn't free to leave since he was already there on his own volition well after the brawl.

If I were his attorney, based on what I know right now, I would be pursuing a misdemeanor resolution. The consequences of a felony assault conviction are pretty onerous and the chances of a complete acquittal at trial probably aren't great.

As a Cowboy fan and a UW alum, I'm beyond pissed. Forgiveness is for parents and friends. Derailing a potentially magical hoops season and drawing yet more negative attention to the University and to the basketball program just when they were starting to get really positive attention is unforgivable from a fan's perspective. Being out at the Buckhorn in the middle of the season should be a violation of team rules if it isn't. I'm not saying I wouldn't expect rules like that to get violated but you've got to be a little smarter than this.

I hope and expect for significant suspensions for Sobey and Cooke assuming they were also in violation of team rules. It would be the only way for the program to maintain credibility.

Have I mentioned how pissed off I am?

 

[bladerunnr]

Martinez is lucky he didn't kill the guy or cause permanent brain damage. Explain why he should get off with a misdemeanor? I don't understand the sympathy for this. He brutally attacked a defenseless person and then lied about it.

If the charges are true, I hope he is convicted and serves some time. No wonder people outside the state think we are a bunch of rednecks.

 

[OrediggerPoke]

Thanks for the explanation Cowduck that should help some here understand the uphill battle Luke faces. I stay as far far away from criminal defense as I can and would have no idea what I was doing in a criminal proceeding.

Bladerunner, Cowduck was explaning the defense strategy. Cowduck explained how he is sickened by the purported facts. Our system only works if both sides are presented and it is an attorney's ethical responsibility to zealously represent their client. This means that the defense attorney has a responsibility to pursue all potential legal arguments which may be made in order to throw out the purported confession.

 

[djm19]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, our team is boarding a plane to Fresneck country.

God speed Pokes.

Luke ain't coming back. He is done. At least we can move on now.

 

[wyopig]

Martinez is lucky he didn't kill the guy or cause permanent brain damage. Explain why he should get off with a misdemeanor? I don't understand the sympathy for this. He brutally attacked a defenseless person and then lied about it.

If the charges are true, I hope he is convicted and serves some time. No wonder people outside the state think we are a bunch of rednecks.

Don't give me that shit! If Luke were a football player in Lincoln, NE or Tuscaloosa, AL, the police officer would be in worse shape than the victim by now...if it even got that far. Choosing not to convict someone in the court of public opinion doesn't mean that we're rednecks, you jackass. Nobody on this board is saying that the victim had it coming, nor are they saying that Luke should get off the hook because he's a basketball player.

All we've heard publicly is the story that the police officer has chosen to tell. In that story, it appears that all of the witnesses referenced 1) work at the Buckhorn, and 2) know/are related to the victim. I gather the 2nd part based on the fact that in the affidavit, they consistently reference the victim by his first name, although all of them needed a photo lineup to identify Luke. It's also a little strange that none of them had this story to tell the night of the fight. They all had a reasonably consistent story 5 days later, other than the fact that some saw the victim swing at Luke and some didn't. Also, the witnesses didn't have a consistent account of what foot Luke used to kick the kid.

I'm not defending Luke here. In my personal opinion, I wish Shyatt would kick his ass off the team today so that this bullshit distraction is behind us. We shouldn't even be talking about this, and because we are, Luke should be gone. I'm just saying that taking a level headed look at the situation doesn't mean that Wyomingites are rednecks.

 

[djm19]

Didn't have to look far to find some national run....

ESPNAndyKatz Andy Katz
OK, after reading this story there is no way Luke Martinez will play for Wyoming even after he is healthy.

ESPNAndyKatz Andy Katz
This is a real shame because now Martinez had taken away from what had been a breakthrough season for Wyoming. Pathetic, cowardly act

 

[BeaverPoke]

The witnesses are EMPLOYEES of the Buckhorn and will likely be considered neutral witnesses, not good for Martinez.

The employees at the Buckhorn are incompetent idiots. Making it even worse for Luke.

Stupid whores...

Sounds to me like they saw what they saw. Why would they make it up? Sounds like Luke admitted it eventually.

Oh I don't think they are making it up and they have every right to come forward, I was just saying that from my personal experience with them. I didn't mean for my personal opinion about the bartenders to have a meaning towards the Luke situation.

 

[cheypoke]

Cowduck, I dont see anything that would warranty Sobey being suspended. Perhaps Cooke should be though. I am guessing that Cooke hasnt been charged because he punched the guy after he was swinging at Martinez.

But what isnt clear to me is how Martinez broke his hand? I think that was reported somewhere but I missed it.

 

[djm19]

Cowduck, I dont see anything that would warranty Sobey being suspended. Perhaps Cooke should be though. I am guessing that Cooke hasnt been charged because he punched the guy after he was swinging at Martinez.

But what isnt clear to me is how Martinez broke his hand? I think that was reported somewhere but I missed it.

Ironic that Cooke attended "Friendly High School." opcorn:

 

[Wyo2dal]

I'm only going to post one time in this thread, Before you crucify him at least let's get the full story after it's said and done. Personally it's done and over with there is nothing that is going to change about it maybe you hold your opinions strong I could careless they aren't mine and I don't share the same opinion but I won't crucify anyone until they have been proven to be guilty.

Bad news for Luke, Bad news for a terrific season but this is the type of adversity that could build an amazing team for the end of this year and next year.

 

[Cowduck]

Cowduck, I dont see anything that would warranty Sobey being suspended. Perhaps Cooke should be though. I am guessing that Cooke hasnt been charged because he punched the guy after he was swinging at Martinez.

But what isnt clear to me is how Martinez broke his hand? I think that was reported somewhere but I missed it.

Like I said, if being out at the Buckhorn in the middle of the season isn't a violation of team rules then I guess he shouldn't be suspended. But being out at the Buckhorn in the middle of the season should be a violation of team rules. I'm going to venture a guess that whatever the rules were before this incident, they are about to get much more strict. And regardless, it's plain selfish. It's really, really hard for Shyatt to sell a team-first ethic to the University, to fans, and to recruits when people are exhibiting this kind of decision making in the middle of a then-undefeated season.

It should also be a violation of every notion of common sense to not get the fuck out of there at the first sign of trouble regardless of whether it was a team rules violation. Going for a drink at a bar is one thing; sticking around when shit starts to hit the fan is another.

 

[Cowduck]

Martinez is lucky he didn't kill the guy or cause permanent brain damage. Explain why he should get off with a misdemeanor? I don't understand the sympathy for this. He brutally attacked a defenseless person and then lied about it.

If the charges are true, I hope he is convicted and serves some time. No wonder people outside the state think we are a bunch of rednecks.

As a defense attorney, it isn't my job to make judgments about why or why not any of my clients deserve a particular outcome, its my job to get them the best possible outcome I can. There are all kinds of reasons prosecutors would agree to settle a case like this for a misdemeanor. For example, a prosecutor who asked Martinez to plead to the charged offense in this case and get any significant amount of jail time could expect a competent defense attorney to say, "see you in trial" since that is the worst case scenario for Martinez if he goes to trial anyways. I'm sure you're aware that as a percentage, very few criminal prosecutions result in a trial. If prosecutors went out seeking maximum punishment in every case the courts would be forever gridlocked and you could expect to spend a lot more of your time on jury duty than you would like. They have to give defendants something they can't get by going to trial.

 

[bladerunnr]

Martinez is lucky he didn't kill the guy or cause permanent brain damage. Explain why he should get off with a misdemeanor? I don't understand the sympathy for this. He brutally attacked a defenseless person and then lied about it.

If the charges are true, I hope he is convicted and serves some time. No wonder people outside the state think we are a bunch of rednecks.

As a defense attorney, it isn't my job to make judgments about why or why not any of my clients deserve a particular outcome, its my job to get them the best possible outcome I can. There are all kinds of reasons prosecutors would agree to settle a case like this for a misdemeanor. For example, a prosecutor who asked Martinez to plead to the charged offense in this case and get any significant amount of jail time could expect a competent defense attorney to say, "see you in trial" since that is the worst case scenario for Martinez if he goes to trial anyways. I'm sure you're aware that as a percentage, very few criminal prosecutions result in a trial. If prosecutors went out seeking maximum punishment in every case the courts would be forever gridlocked and you could expect to spend a lot more of your time on jury duty than you would like. They have to give defendants something they can't get by going to trial.

I can appreciate that. My post was more a general reaction to what I perceived was a lack of outrage at the what Martinez has been charged with. I wrote in my post, "If the charges are true", then I would hope he serves time. Obviously, all kinds of things can happen before an actual trial. To me, his future on the BB team is irrelevant. He has stained the university by his actions and deserves to be expelled. Csewe kicked 3 football players out of school for beating up a student this past season. There were other allegations as well.

To respond to the the poster who referred to me as "jackass": your argument is dead wrong. When Lawrence Phillips dragged his girlfriend by the hair and threw her in the garbage can, that stuck to Nebraska for years. Tom Osborne never lived it down. Gary Barnett lost his job at CU when rape allegations at a recruiting party were alleged. This kind of thing may have been kept quiet years ago. No longer. Ohio state got put on probation and their coach lost his job over some sale of souvenirs!

 

[djm19]

I see your point, but Nebraska and Ohio State aren't Wyoming. Those high profile coaches, schools and programs are in the media spotlight.

I am most worried about the collective whole, sum of the parts. Shakir, Patrick Martinez, Luke, Coach C's AF rant, etc. Eay to build a bad rep.

 

[bladerunnr]

I see your point, but Nebraska and Ohio State aren't Wyoming. Those high profile coaches, schools and programs are in the media spotlight.

I am most worried about the collective whole, sum of the parts. Shakir, Patrick Martinez, Luke, Coach C's AF rant, etc. Eay to build a bad rep.

In this video era we live in, we are all in the media spotlight. I'm a little surprised that someone didn't record the whole incident with their camera phone!