Felony Now a Misdemeanor Under Terms : Martinez’s Conviction Is Reduced

The felony conviction of former San Diego City Councilman Uvaldo Martinez was reduced to a misdemeanor Tuesday. Martinez resigned a year ago after admitting he had misused a city credit card.

The action by Superior Court Judge Barbara Gamer was in accordance with a plea bargain that Martinez struck with prosecutors in October, when he pleaded guilty to two felony counts of misappropriating and falsely accounting for public funds.

Under the plea agreement, the charges were to be reduced to misdemeanors after one year if Martinez complied with his probation. The probation required him to perform 400 hours of community service and pay the city back for credit card tabs that figured in his prosecution.

Terms of Probation Met

On Tuesday, Gamer reviewed reports from the Probation Department and concluded that Martinez had, as requested, repaid the city $607.80 and performed 459 hours of volunteer work for Barrio Station, a community service organization.

The judge then allowed Martinez to withdraw his guilty pleas to the felony charges--for the filing of a false credit card voucher and making a false entry in a record concerning the disbursement of public funds--and re-enter a guilty plea to a single misdemeanor count. The second charge was dropped with no objection from prosecutors.

Typically, the reduction to a misdemeanor would allow Martinez to run for public office if he so desired, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Allan Preckel, who prosecuted the case. But terms of the plea bargain specifically restrict the former councilman from pursuing an elective post until his probationary term expires in November, 1989, Preckel said.

“He must continue to meet the standard conditions of probation throughout the full three-year period of probation, and one of those is that he not run for nor hold public office,” Preckel said. “The only change is that he no longer needs to report formally to a probation officer. So long as he is law-abiding in all respects, I see no reason why his probation will not run its course without incident.”

Martinez, who has established a development consulting firm, said he was pleased with the disposition of his case.

‘Great Deal of Relief’

“There’s no question that there’s a great deal of relief on my part today,” Martinez said. “Certainly, it closes a chapter in my life, and now is the time for me to concentrate on making my business a success. I can’t seek public office for two more years, and while I haven’t precluded doing that at some future point, my consulting firm is occupying all of my attention right now.”

He added that, although he has completed the volunteer work required under his probation, he plans to continue helping Barrio Station.

“We’ve been trying to raise money to provide housing for the elderly in Barrio Logan, and since I’ve gotten pretty close to that project, I plan to continue working on that,” Martinez said.

Once considered a potential Republican candidate for mayor, Martinez saw his political career begin to crumble in September, 1985, when it was disclosed that he had falsified his city expense reports.

Allegations against the former city planner prompted investigations by city officials, the district attorney’s office and the grand jury, which ultimately indicted him on 24 felony counts related to his misuse of a city credit card to purchase meals and drinks worth $1,840 between November, 1984, and June, 1985.

Insisted on Innocence at First

In the beginning, Martinez insisted on his innocence, claiming that he was guilty of nothing more than judgment errors and poor bookkeeping. But on Oct. 2, 1986, he abruptly pleaded guilty to the two felony counts, offering no explanation. In return, the district attorney’s office dismissed the additional 22 counts and agreed to the reduction to misdemeanors.

A San Diego area native and high school football star, Martinez was appointed to the City Council in December, 1982. He represented the 8th District until his resignation Nov. 12, 1986.