Jury acquits Mike Martin of murder

Michael Martin was acquitted of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter following last week's trial on charges stemming from an accident in 2007 that resulted in the deaths of two of his friends.

After receiving the case in late afternoon Friday and deliberating until 1:30 a.m. that night, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the lesser charge of vehicular manslaughter in the case. As of Wednesday, Martin remained on in jail on bond until Prosecutor Kristina Schindele decides during a status and bond hearing on Aug. 18 whether or not to retry him on the vehicular manslaughter charge.

The trial had originally been postponed on April 22 due to an inadequate jury pool.

Martin had been charged with two counts of second-degree murder for allegedly running a vehicle that contained four individuals off the road near the intersection of Aguirre and Hilliard Roads just south of Mountain Home. The incident occurred after all those involved had left a party earlier that night where alcohol had been consumed by Martin and others.

The collision caused the deaths of Juanita Ramirez, 22, of Mountain Home, formerly of Grand View, and James Garner, 25, also of Mountain Home.

The final day of the trial featured testimony from Brita Shannon (Martin's girlfriend), Trooper Carmack, a crash/reconstruction specialist with the Idaho State Police, Teresa Garner (Robert Garner's sister) and Louisa Kastner (Juanita Ramirez's sister).

Garner and Kastner were both overwhelmed when talking about their fallen kin and seeing pictures of them with their immediate families.

During closing arguments, Schindele asked each jury member to review the evidence, including the recording of the 911 call that heard Brita Shannon hysterical and Martin shouting, "What am I going to do?"

In her summation to the jury Schindele recalled the key facts discussed during the trial, including the brake marks and the dent that was found on the body of Martin's BMW that matched the mirror on the victims' Honda Civic.

"The BMW was used as a dangerous weapon. He (disregarded) the safety of the four individuals in the Honda Civic," said Schindele.

Defense Attorney Terry Ratliff contested that point however, contending that Martin had no intent to murder anyone. "This was a basic accident, nobody's denying that."

Ratliff, in his summation, said there was a lack of evidence by the state to show Martin had any intention of running the vehicle driven by Ramirez off the road.

"When we talk about a dangerous weapon, it's dangerous only if the handler attempts to use it in that way," said Ratliff.

"Since May 6, (2007), Michael has had to live with what happened. This is truly an accident, and there is nothing you can do or Michael can do to bring these people back," he said.