Detroit Lions’ Robbie Martin Is Arrested After Machete Attack on House, Corvette

Robbie Martin of the Detroit Lions was arrested early Thursday after machete-wielding attacks on the home of his estranged wife and her male companion’s Corvette, authorities said.

Martin injured himself in the process, but neither his wife nor the other man was hurt, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Sgt. Leon Cole said.

Martin, 26, a punt-return specialist who has twice carried back kicks for touchdowns in his four-year professional career, was taken to County General Hospital in San Luis Obispo for treatment of cuts to his left hand, then to jail, Cole said.

He was booked for investigation of burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and felony vandalism, Cole said.

Deputies who arrived after the 1:30 a.m. attack said they followed a trail of blood into the home of Carrie Martin, 23, and found the football star bleeding profusely.

The 1974 Corvette belonging to Denton Sumner, 27, of San Luis Obispo had sustained an estimated $2,500 damage from an apparent machete attack, Cole said. Deputies also said Sumner himself had been attacked but had been able to escape injury and wrestle his assailant to the floor, disarming him.

Several windows were smashed in the house, and the front door had been kicked in. Damage was estimated at about $800. Martin apparently cut his fist smashing a window, deputies said.

He refused to take a blood-alcohol test, they added.

Martin was picked up by Detroit in 1981 after being drafted on the third round by the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he had led the school to the 1980 NCAA Division II national championship as a wide receiver.

Mrs. Martin is still a student at the school. The couple has a 2-year-old son.

According to Cole, Martin, a former prep star at Villa Park High in Orange, began his rampage after driving up to his wife’s Mitchell Street home and finding Sumner’s car parked outside.