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tucson death

Candy Store Show Club killer never caught, family of victim Angel Martinez keeps memory, hope for justice alive

Native Tucsonan Angel Martinez was a young man with a bright smile and plans for an even brighter future, his sister said – but all light was snuffed out when the 20-year-old was fatally shot in front of the Candy Store Show Club last year.

Angel Martinez/submitted photo

Although nearly 13 months have passed since his Oct. 28, 2009, murder, his sister Melissa Carrasco, other family members and friends are bent on a twofold mission.

They are determined to keep his memory alive – and they are equally as determined to get his killer behind bars.

The first part of their mission continues Sunday, Nov. 21, with a memorial march for Angel Martinez from 10 a.m. to noon. The march starts in front of the Candy Store, 1104 S. Craycroft Rd, and ends in Reid Park. Other events in his honor have included last month’s successful basketball tournament.

“We want to show the community that Angel was a caring person who touched many of us in different ways,” Carrasco said of her brother, known for his “huge bear hugs” and “great big smile with cute dimples.”

The second part of their mission is a bit trickier.

Although the suspected shooter, Cliffton Martinez, was arrested mere hours after Angel was fatally wounded, the case was thrown out when a key witness faltered and said he could no longer identify Cliffton as the main shooter, Carrasco said.

Case dismissed.

Looking over Cliffton’s criminal record, which includes a two-year prison sentence for a weapons misconduct charge, one sees several dismissals.

Cliffton Martinez/AZ Dept of Corrections photo

While the Arizona Department of Corrections noted Cliffton did not squeak by without serving some prison time until his Nov. 2008 release, he managed to slide through several charges with a paltry penalty or none at all.

To be fair, the Arizona Judicial Branch website does reveal a few guilty charges, including one with jail time, for his consistent underage consumption of alcohol and equally consistent habit of having liquor in a vehicle.

But other charges blew away with the wind.

No valid license. Failure to show valid license or identification. Liquor in vehicle. Another liquor in vehicle. Underage alcohol consumption. Improper light on license plate.

Dismissed, dismissed, dismissed.

An April 2009 traffic stop, where he ended up with five citations including speeding, not having a valid license and failure to stop on a peace officer’s command, resulted in a few fines.

Even though some of the charges are minor, like improper light on a license plate, the guy seems adept at skimming through the system. Perhaps it’s not a surprise he shimmied through once again, even on a first-degree murder charge.

Although Cliffton was in jail for nearly a year after Angel’s death, he was set free just before the trial.

“Since then, our family has teamed up with 88-CRIME and we have posted flyer’s around town in hopes to have someone come forward with more detailed information regarding the night he was murdered,” Carrasco said.

The initial Tucson Police Department news release said Angel had been inside the Candy Store speaking with two men and, when he went to leave, he was confronted by several other men who had also been inside the club. Police believe the suspects are active gang members and gang unit detectives joined the investigation.

Angel, who was one of six kids, was always someone people could count on, his sister added, whether it be his family, friends, teachers or employers.

As a junior in Tucson High School he worked for El Rio Community Center.

“He instantly found a love for his job as a referee in sports and then later as a recreational worker for the young KIDCO children that attended,” his sister said, adding he was into basketball himself. “He was a great role model and a mentor to them.”

After graduating high school in 2008, Angel enrolled in Pima Community College where he was aiming to major in engineering. But he also had a creative side.

“He enjoyed…all aspects of music including making his own music as an upcoming and inspiring artist,” Carrasco said. “He was also inspired to one day open up a clothing line with many sketches and designs left behind that our family hopes to one day fulfill for him.”

“He was a genuine and sincere young man that was always trying to help others in need in one way or another.

“We are to determined to seek justice for my brother’s death and will not stop searching for ways till justice is served.”

[tnipoll]

What do you think?

Are too many cases dismissed, dismissed, dismissed?

Have you ever had a case dismissed?

Did you know Angel Martinez? Please comment below.

Filed Under: blogski, crime, danger, death, gross stuff, life, police, fire, law Tagged With: angel a martinez, angel martinez, candy store killing, candy store shooting, cliffton martinez, crime, danger, dead, death, ryn gargulinski, rynski, rynski's blogski, tucson crime, tucson death, tucson murder, tucson police, tucson police department, unsolved murder tucson

Murphy laws cover rain, taxes, death

People know when to die. Or at least six of them do.

Art and photo Ryn Gargulinski
Art and photo Ryn Gargulinski

Six folks died this past week – as many as in the previous three weeks – because I was on furlough. This means I would not get to update the Day of the Dead blog promptly and would have a morbid first day back listing all the deaths.

In addition to the five deaths, my inbox contained announcements of a motorcyclist with life-threatening injuries and two hikers already lost for days in the Grand Canyon.

Call it life’s little ironies, bad timing, or use the more common term: Murphy’s Law.

The original Murphy’s Law, which says “If something can go wrong, it will,” came about from, you guessed it, a guy named Murphy.

Dang Murphy.

A synopsis of its origin is noted at Clear Lead Inc.:

Murphy’s Law, as it has come to be known, took root at the Edwards Air Force Base in 1949. Captain Edward A. Murphy was an engineer working on a project that measured how much sudden deceleration a person could stand in the event of a crash. This project was USAF project MX981 – the test for human acceleration tolerances. One of the experiments needed a set of 16 accelerometers to be mounted to different parts of the subject’s body. This could be done in two ways.

As was expected, the person involved had glued all the parts the wrong way around. This caused Capt. Murphy to utter “If it could be done wrong, in all probability it would.”

The Air Force doctor, Dr. John Paul Stapp later gave a press conference to the effect that the safety record on this project was largely due to the belief in Murphy’s Law and stringent steps being undertaken to circumvent it.

The site also noted six more Murphy laws, which continue to crop up like crab grass:

1. If something can go wrong, it will.
2. If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
3. Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.
4. Matter is damaged in direct proportion to its value.
5. The chance of the bread falling buttered side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.
6. The opulence of the front office décor is inversely proportional to the fundamental solvency of the company.
7. Tell a man that there are 250 billion stars in the universe and chances are that he will believe you. But try telling him that the bench has wet paint and he will touch to be sure.

Illustration Ryn Gargulinski
Illustration Ryn Gargulinski

Murphy’s laws kick into play in subtle ways every day, with special attention given to some major areas.

These laws definitely dictate the weather. Know it will invariably rain on certain days – like right after you wash your car. Never mind that you’ve lived in a dust-covered auto for six months or the forecast called for sun, sun, sun. Raindrops will pelt your newly polished fenders and streak down your windshield.

Rain also likes to hit right after we paint our house, the one day of the year we dig out all our crap to have a yard sale and on the day we finally decide to wear our new suede jacket. Count on it.

Murphy’s Law also works in conjunction with major department stores to ensure large items will go on sale the day after we buy them. This not only applies to suede jackets but to expensive electronics, like camcorders and big screen TVs. It will also rain during the TV delivery.

The laws have a way of toying around with taxes. After struggling for no fewer than 10 hours through my tax return, as I had no money to hire someone to do them for me, I finally got them done. Most of my time was spent looking up rules, regulations and strange formulas that involved lots of multiplication to deduct items to which I was entitled.

It’s been days and my headache is barely subsiding.

Would you know the very next day every other headline online and in those magazines I got sucked into subscriptions for said something about taxes.

“Five Overlooked Deductions,” “10 Most Common Tax Mistakes,” “Three Ways to Make Tax Time Easier,” “How to Calculate Deductions without Strange Formulas that Involve Lots of Multiplication.”

Sigh. Of course, when I went to buy an extra large bottle of incredibly expensive pain reliever to quell my headache, it went on sale the very next day.

[tnipoll]

wb-logolilWhat do you think?

When was the last time you were plagued with a Murphy law?

Which of Murphy’s laws hits you most often?

Did your big screen TV get delivered in the rain?

What’s your favorite Murphy law? I like the buttered bread one myself.

Filed Under: blogski, danger, environment, gross stuff, life, police, fire, law Tagged With: bad luck, bad timing, capt edward a murphy, coincidences not coincidence, danger, dead, death, edwards air force base, eerie, funky, jinx, kooky, murphy law daily life, murphy law origin, murphy's laws, odd, rain, ryn gargulinski, rynski, rynski's blogski, strange tucson, taxes, tucson, tucson death, tucson rain, tucson taxes, twisted, usaf project mx981, weird

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