By: Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Ripley man accused of grabbing his girlfriend by her arm and pinning her to a bed has been ordered to appear in court on July 21 on a felony charge of domestic violence in the presence of three children in their rural residence.
Due to his criminal record, Jeff Mitchell Martin Jr., 30, could be given a prison term of three years to life if convicted of domestic assault and battery as a subsequent offense, court records show. Martin remains free on $5,000 bail.
Payne County Sheriff’s Deputy Korey Carruba was sent at 12:24 a.m. on June 7 on a report that a dispatcher “received a 911 text message requesting deputies as soon as possible,” according to his affidavit.
“Upon arrival to the residence, I observed a female running towards my patrol vehicle with an infant child in her arms,” the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
She told the deputy that her boyfriend, who was inside the house, “grabbed her and pinned her to the bed and that he was in a rage,” the affidavit alleged.
While the woman stayed behind his patrol car, “Deputies Jeff Kramer, Scott Hopper and myself proceeded to the entrance to the residence,” the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
“I observed Mr. Martin to be wearing shorts and appeared to have no weapons on his person. Mr. Martin appeared very agitated and was sweating profusely. I requested Mr. Martin step outside. Mr. Martin refused and asked us to come in,” the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
When the deputies went in the house, “I observed two children laying on a bed in the living room,” Carruba wrote in his affidavit.
“Mr. Martin advised him and his girlfriend had gotten into an argument over her texting another man. He advised he had just gotten back from fishing at the river, and he asked her who she was texting, and then they got into the argument,” the affidavit alleged.
While other deputies stayed with Martin, Carruba went outside to ask Deputy David Sloan, who also saw marks on the woman’s arm, to take pictures of her injuries, the affidavit said.
“I requested Deputy Christopher McKosato transport Mr. Martin to the Payne County Jail while I finished my investigation,” Carruba wrote in his affidavit.
When the woman was asked what happened, “She advised he just came back from fishing at the river, and as soon as he came inside, he was agitated.
“She advised ‘he saw me texting 911 and her mom;’ then he asked who she was texting. She advised she was scared to tell him, at which point he grabbed her arm and pinned her to the bed. I asked if the children were present. She advised the infant was laying on the bed next to her during the incident,” and the two older children were in the living room, Carruba alleged in his affidavit.
The woman’s mother arrived and “allowed me to take pictures of the texts,” she received from her daughter, Carruba alleged in his affidavit.
The state Department of Human Services was notified, the affidavit said.
According to court records and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Martin was previously convicted of:
* attempting to elude officers in Stillwater and leaving the scene of an injury accident in 2015, for which in 2018 he was given a six-month jail term followed by nine and one-half years of probation with an order to pay $3,061 restitution and undergo random drug tests;
* domestic assault and battery as a misdemeanor in 2016 in Payne County, for which in 2018 he was given a concurrent six-month jail term to the above sentence;
* car theft in Cushing in 2008, for which in 2010 he was given a six-month jail term followed by two and one-half years of probation;
* second-degree burglary in 2009 in Tulsa, for which in 2009 he was given a one-year prison term and served about five months, followed by three years of probation.
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