$100K cash bail imposed on poker robbery suspect

Marlon Martin

Superior Court Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio yesterday maintained the $100,000 cash bail that was initially imposed on Marlon Martin, an ex-convict who was arrested shortly after he allegedly robbed a poker establishment in Chalan Kanoa last Monday.

Martin, 33, was taken to court on charges of robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon, theft, assault and battery, and disturbing the peace.

Assistant attorney general Heather Barcinas said the charges carry a total maximum sentence of 47 years imprisonment.

Assistant public defender Cindy Nesbit was appointed as counsel for Martin.

Sources said Martin is also a suspect in other robberies at poker arcades and other establishments on Saipan.

According to court documents, police found Martin hiding inside a residence located in the back area of Viva Poker.

Sources said Martin’s girlfriend is a CNM Judiciary marshal who got hired only a few months ago.

While conducting a pat down, police detective George David discovered $500 in Martin’s crotch area and also found a hammer and the exact clothing that he used in the robbery.

Another detective also found a large amount of money in his girlfriend’s room closet. The girlfriend denied she owns the money.

The report did not mention the amount of money. A source, however, disclosed that it’s about $900.

Police detective Jackson K. Davis stated in his report that preliminary investigation showed that on Monday at 11:58am, the Department of Public Safety Dispatch Center received a call about a robbery in progress at Viva Poker in Chalan Kanoa.

When a police officer arrived in the parking lot of Bank of Guam located across Viva Poker, he met with an eyewitness, who stated that while she was waiting outside the bank, she heard an alarm coming from the poker establishment.

The eyewitness said she then saw a man, who was clad in a black hoody over his head, running out from Viva Poker. The man, who was observed to have been carrying what appeared to be a tire wrench, ran toward an open lot that leads to Petra Avenue.

The officer proceeded to Viva Poker at 12:05pm, and saw the female cashier crying and rubbing her left temple.

The cashier told police that while she was in the cashier’s booth, she heard the suspect yelling to her that the machine was broken.

The cashier looked at the camera monitor and saw that it was a man wearing a black hoody and sitting and playing at machine No. 10.

The cashier said she did not suspect anything because it was day time. When she opened the door of the cashier’s booth to check, the suspect grabbed and pushed her toward the cash register.

The cashier screamed, but the suspect, in a Palauan accent, told her he would not hurt her if she would just give the money.

The suspect grabbed the money from the tray and ran toward the back door where he left his bicycle. The cashier sounded the alarm, prompting the suspect to run from the front door, leaving his bicycle behind.

Police learned that the suspect managed to run away with over $1,000. The establishment later learned that $2,777 was stolen.

During the search around the vicinity of the establishment, two other responding officers found $100 in $10 bills held with a paper clip on the roadway a few feet from the residence of Martin’s girlfriend.

Police reviewed the surveillance camera and confirmed that the suspect came out from the residence of Martin’s girlfriend.

The footage showed that the suspect rode his bicycle and proceeded to Viva Poker.

The footage also confirmed the cashier’s statement as to how the suspect staged the robbery.

After robbing the establishment, the suspect ran back toward the front door area of his girlfriend’s house.

While canvassing the surrounding area of the house, the girlfriend arrived and allowed the officers to search her residence at 1pm.

At 1:27pm, one officer found Martin hiding between some shelves and arrested him.

In April 2010, the Superior Court slapped a seven-year prison term on Martin after he pleaded guilty to armed robbery at 24 Hours Pawnshop in Chalan Kanoa on Oct. 23, 2009.

Martin and co-defendant, Fernando C. Quitano, both wearing masks, smashed the cashier’s booth and attacked the employees and a 73-year-old man with a crowbar and sledgehammer.

Quitano was convicted and got a 42-year prison sentence in 2011.
Martin had also several criminal convictions in the past.