A Burbank man accused of shooting two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies last week in Bellflower and then holding authorities at bay for nearly eight hours pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of attempted murder and other felony counts.
Juan Manuel Martinez, 39, faces 10 counts of attempted murder of a peace officer and one count each of false imprisonment of a hostage, dissuading a witness by force or threat and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
The criminal complaint includes the allegation that Martinez discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury to two of the deputies, who work out of the sheriff's Lakewood station and were conducting a DUI checkpoint on Lakewood Boulevard when the incident began at 10:50 p.m. Thursday.
When a motorcycle deputy stopped Martinez in the 16600 block of Lisa Avenue, he allegedly got out of his vehicle with a firearm and fired at the deputy, striking him multiple times.
Martinez allegedly fled from the scene on foot and then fired on four other deputies who had arrived to assist the injured deputy, wounding one of them as well, according to authorities.
He allegedly then fired at another set of deputies before hiding in a small structure for almost eight hours and holding a hostage, but the man was able to escape unharmed. Martinez was arrested after a SWAT team fired tear gas into the structure behind a house in the 9000 block of Mayne Street in Bellflower, Sheriff Jim McDonnell said.
He has remained jailed since his arrest at about 7:30 a.m. Friday, according to jail records. His bail was increased from $10 million to $11 million at the prosecution's request. Martinez is scheduled to make his next court appearance July 12, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.
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If convicted, he could face a maximum of life in prison, according to the District Attorney's Office. One of the two injured deputies was released Saturday from a hospital, while the other remained hospitalized after undergoing surgery, according to the sheriff's department.
