2 Ex-Deputies Plead Not Guilty in Beating of Inmate

An ex-Maywood police officer and two former Orange County sheriff’s deputies pleaded not guilty Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court to charges that they beat up a Maywood jail inmate while drunk and off duty.

Former officer Michael A. Elliott, 32, and ex-deputies Ivan Budiselich, 26, and John Rice, 25, face two felony counts each of assault with great bodily injury and assault under color of authority.

Prosecutors charge that the officers spent the night of March 22 drinking with a second Maywood officer, Daniel Vasquez, who was to be married the next day. About 2 a.m., the four allegedly showed up at Maywood police headquarters, purportedly to use a Breathalyzer to determine which of them was the drunkest.

Shortly after they arrived, however, the bridegroom-to-be became ill and began throwing up in the bathroom, authorities said.

Meanwhile, prosecutors say, the other three officers talked with an on-duty Maywood officer, who was angry about being led on a chase earlier in the day by a suspect in a red T-shirt. During the chase, the officer had damaged his patrol car.

Budiselich, Elliott and Rice then went to the jail and allegedly rousted Marino D. Martillo from his sleep, believing he was the suspect arrested by the officer. Prosecutors charge that the three took turns beating Martillo, who reportedly suffered loss of hearing, blurred vision and dizziness as a result.

All three officers were fired after the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office notified their respective departments of the incident.