Late last year, Oklahoma State Representative Ryan Martinez became the latest Oklahoma lawmaker to embarrass himself, his family, and his office when he was arrested for a second DUI in eight years.
You may remember the case.
On a brisk and chilly November night, an intoxicated Martinez showed up at the Patriarch in Edmond for some after-dinner-drinks drinks. An aware staff refused to serve him, so he stumbled outside to his vehicle. The staff then called the police, who promptly arrived on the scene to find a drunk and slobbery Martinez in the front seat of his truck with the ignition running, preparing to drive home.
You can watch the full body cam footage of the incident below. At one point, Martinez pulled a Dean Davis – another Oklahoma lawmaker with a DUI conviction – and tried to use his status as a lawmaker to get out of the arrest.
In late December – just a few weeks after the State Chamber named him their 2023 Legislator of the Year – Martinez was slapped with felony DUI charges. He pled guilty to those charges late last week, and got a deal that was cushier than a Swadley's Foggy Bottom Kitchen dinner roll.
Via News 9:
Oklahoma Representative Ryan Martinez pleaded guilty to non-driving DUI felony charges Wednesday.
Rep. Martinez will have a one-year deferred sentence with fines and an “interlock device” on his vehicle, according to the plea agreement.
Yep, that’s right. As punishment for his second DUI in eight years, Martinez got slapped with some fines, a one-year deferred sentence, and has to put a breathalyzer on his car, which is just one more thing in his car he'll ask legislative aides to blow into. Must be nice, huh?
In all seriousness, I’ve been covering the Oklahoma DUI beat for nearly 17 years now, have reviewed tons of DUI cases on OSCN, and haven’t seen anything as good as this deal. He got a slap on the wrist that first-time DUI offenders would take in a heartbeat.
But don’t just take my word for it.
I asked my pal John Hunsucker – an Oklahoma DUI attorney who has defended thousands of clients over the years – for his thoughts on the matter.
This is what he told me:
“This is a better deal than what most people with clean records get on a first-time DUI. As a standard first-time recommendation in Oklahoma County, the sentence is usually a two-year deferred sentence, 18-months supervised probation, approximately $1,200 in fines and court costs, 40 hours of community service, and an interlock device for six months. A felony charge, like the one given to Martinez, would generally start with a five-year deferred sentence.
However, it’s all negotiable, and a good lawyer providing mitigation on behalf of his client can generally negotiate a better outcome, as is obviously the case here.”
It really makes you wonder what gives here. Does Martinez’s attorney – Scott Anderson – have compromising info on the DA and the judge who signed off on the plea?
I doubt it. it’s probably just one of two things:
1. Oklahoma Criminal Justice Incompetence
The Assistant DA who agreed to the plea is someone named Mykel Waldrup Fry. Outside of being apparently a convicted drunk driver's best friend, I don’t know a lot about her.
The judge on the case was Nikki Kirkpatrick. She’s relatively new to the docket, and claims to “embody the values that Oklahomans hold most dear: integrity, fairness, and hard work.”
Oops. I guess one value she left off the list was “Not holding powerful Oklahomans accountable.”
The other option is...
2. The Oklahoma Good Ole Boy Network Protecting One Of Its Own
Because he received a deferred sentence, Ryan will likely get to retain his seat in the Oklahoma House, meaning he’ll have a chance to repeat as the State Chamber’s Legislator of the Year.
Anyway, we'd like to congratulate Martinez for doing a hell of a job using his clout and influence to get a hell of a DUI deal. I bet all the other lawmakers at the Capitol can't wait to learn from him.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
