Martinez Enters Plea of Innocent

San Diego City Councilman Uvaldo Martinez pleaded innocent Tuesday to felony charges that he misused a city credit card to buy meals for himself and his associates.

Martinez joked with the press before his arraignment, but he maintained a solemn tone while answering questions from San Diego County Superior Court Judge Richard Huffman during the hearing.

His defense attorney, Jerry Coughlan, said he would ask the judge later this month to seal the transcript of the 12 days of grand jury hearings that ended last week with Martinez’s indictment on 28 counts of misappropriating and falsely accounting for public funds.

“The grand jury is a one-sided proceeding,” Coughlan explained in an interview after the arraignment. “I don’t know how fair or unfair it was.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Allan Preckel said he would oppose any effort to keep secret the record of the grand jury hearings, because of the “public’s right to know” details of important cases.

“Given all the publicity to date, there’s a minimal risk of any prejudice accruing by virtue of disclosing the contents of the grand jury transcript,” he said.

Martinez, dressed in a dark gray suit, winked at reporters as he entered the courtroom. “Why are you guys all here?” he deadpanned.

He grew more serious as he stood briefly at Coughlan’s side to tell Huffman he was not guilty of the charges. After advising Martinez of his rights, Huffman said the councilman would remain free pending trial, tentatively scheduled for June 30.

If he is convicted on any of the charges, Martinez would have to resign as a city councilman. He could be jailed for up to eight years and fined $280,000 if found guilty on all the counts.

Pressing through a crowd of reporters and cameramen to leave the courthouse, Martinez refused to answer most questions about the case. Instead, he repeated the line that has been his refrain for the past week: “I expect to be vindicated.”

The indictment alleges that Martinez illegally used his city-issued Visa credit card to purchase $1,880 worth of meals and drinks on 21 occasions between November, 1984, and July, 1985.

Several people listed on Martinez’s city expense reports as guests at meals during that period have told The Times they did not eat with Martinez on those occasions. Others said no city business was discussed or that they had picked up the tabs for the meals.