Martens jailed 10 years for chaotic crime spree

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This article was published 12/08/2015 (3179 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man who nearly mowed down two police officers during a crime spree last summer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Judge Ray Wyant described Matthew James Martens as one of the highest risks to reoffend he has seen in recent years before delivering the maximum sentence jointly recommended by the Crown and defence against a 24-year-old with a lengthy criminal past. The judge’s ruling was made in Steinbach provincial court Thursday.

Martens was involved in an erratic series of misdemeanors in June 2014 which mirrored a decade of other transgressions, many of them stemming from a similar crime spree he undertook as a 19-year-old. As a youth he racked up 56 convictions and 26 more as an adult.

“By any measure, and any standard, this is a horrific set of offences,” said Wyant of the case at hand. “Quite frankly, chills you to the bone to think about the dangerous situation that Mr. Martens put a whole bunch of people, members of the public, in, separate even and apart to the life-threatening situation the police officers were in.”

The rampage, on which he was joined by then-girlfriend Brittany Kehler, began in the early morning June 7 when Martens was in a vehicle that attracted the police’s attention while heading on Trans-Canada Highway around Falcon Lake. Martens took the wheel while the driver was outside being questioned and raced off. Police pursued the vehicle but called off the chase as Martens reached speeds of 180 km/hr.

Three weeks later, on June 26, Martens and Kehler were discovered in the Selkirk area but sped off in their vehicle again, forcing an officer to leap out of the way. A high speed pursuit ensued, this time on Highway 9A. Other drivers swerved out of the way as Martens drove into oncoming traffic. Police again called off their chase.

Early the next day police located Martens on Bernat Road, a few kilometres north of Niverville, after they obtained a tracking warrant on his cell phone. Police surrounded the car and drew their firearms but the couple sped off yet again.

Cell phone tracking led the police near Richer later that day where an officer placed a spike belt on Provincial Road 302. As the officer worked to reposition the belt he looked up and saw Martens’ Hyundai car bearing toward him. The officer discharged his gun twice but he did not hit the vehicle. Martens swerved away from the belt, nearly striking the officer. The Crown alleged Martens sped up toward the officer.

“I remember running my hands up and down my body to confirm that I hadn’t been hit and was still in one piece,” the officer recalled in a letter.

Police finally caught up to Martens and Kehler later that day near Brandon and arrested the pair. They have been in custody since.

Crown attorney Jeff Nichols presented victim impact statements from the two officers whose lives were at risk. One member of the Selkirk RCMP said he would have blamed himself if anyone got hurt.

“It must be quite tormenting to him to have that kind of guilt that he seems to bear and he’s not guilty of anything,” said Wyant.

Martens’ adopted grandmother, who was in attendance, wrote a letter detailing his upbringing. She said Child and Family Services did more harm than good, taking Martens from his mother far longer than she wanted. He spent some time at a Steinbach school where she said in the letter he was discriminated against for his Aboriginal heritage.

Martens was apologetic for his actions last summer.

I want to “believe in myself so that when I get out, I can make it, finish my parole and move on with my life,” he said.

Wyant said based on Martens’ track record his professions rang hollow.

“Nothing you’ve done in your life would speak to either your sincerity or your ability or even willingness to do exactly what you profess to do,” the judge said.

Defence attorney Alan Libman described Martens as having “exceptionally low self-esteem.”

Martens gave the same explanation when the judge asked why someone without mental health or substance abuse issues would put so many people’s lives in danger.

“There are a lot of people who walk around with problems as big if not bigger than yours, Mr. Martens,” replied Wyant. “They don’t act out in a criminal fashion.”

When Martens pled guilty earlier this summer, the Crown dropped a robbery charge from June 5, 2014 that occurred in Steinbach RCMP’s catchment area. It was explained by police last year that Martens and Kehler were accused of an armed robbery in La Broquerie.

Kehler pled guilty to her role in the crime spree earlier this week in Winnipeg. She will be sentenced at a later date.