Prosecutors on Monday dropped charges — including resisting arrest — against a Vista father whose arrest last week by deputies sparked condemnation by family and at least one community leader after a recording of it was widely shared online.

The 22-second recording appears to show deputies manhandling Gerardo Martinez Sr., and his namesake son after they were in handcuffs May 7 following a report of domestic violence near their condominium in a complex near East Vista Way on the city’s northeast end.

The District Attorney’s Office confirmed that it dismissed the charges. “We can only file charges when we believe we can prove them beyond a reasonable doubt,” a spokeswoman said in an email.

She did not immediately respond to a query made after business hours regarding what role the images caught on video played in the decision to drop the case against the elder Martinez.


Mark Lane, the investigator for the attorney representing Martinez, said he suspects two videos played key roles: the viral recording and footage from body-worn cameras that deputies wear.

The video that first brought attention to the arrest appears to capture the waning seconds of the encounter with deputies. In the footage, Martinez Sr. was shoved into a wooden fence face-first. His son, pinned to a sidewalk, was beaten about the head.

The video was taken by a neighbor, and posted by the daughter and sister of the two men.

Authorities said the deputies had been summoned to the area after a 911 call from a woman who was being held against her will. The Sheriff’s Department issued a statement last week saying that the video captured only a portion of what happened, and asserted that the parties in the video fought with deputies.


Martinez said Monday evening that the experience has left him shaken.

“I’ve been very scared because if something happens in my home, how can I call the police?” he said. “I don’t feel safe right now.”

Last week, Sheriff Bill Gore said the department would conduct a full review of the events. Two deputies involved were placed on desk duty.

The son’s case is still pending. He remains jailed in lieu of $110,000.


teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com


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Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT