How A Convicted Killer Smuggled A Gun Into An East Bay Jail And Shot An Officer And Himself With 1 Bullet

CONTRA COSTA, CA — Authorities identified the man suspected of sneaking a gun past police and shooting himself and officers while being booked.

They also released the names of the officer who was shot inside the police station during the arrest and booking.

Michael Arthur-Sanchez Martin, 31, faces charges of attempted murder, assaulting a police officer with a firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, and possessing a firearm inside a jail facility, according to Contra Costa County Sheriff's arrest records.

Martin was scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 8, just days from when Pittsburg police pulled him over.

Officers arrested Martin at about 3:45 p.m. on Sept. 3, on suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle and having outstanding felony warrants.

An officer searched him during the arrest and again after transporting him to the Pittsburg booking facility.

However, the same officer failed to find a firearm that Galer said Martin concealed in his clothing.

While being booked at the Pittsburg police station, a single bullet passed through Martin's thigh before striking an officer below his body armor.

The police officer, Jimmy Sanchez, was hit in the lower abdomen.

Sanchez underwent surgery and is recovering, Galer said. A third officer received treatment for minor injuries and is recovering.

Galer called the incident a violent ambush inside the department’s booking facility. But he acknowledged the search that failed to detect the gun Martin was carrying.

“That was a serious failure,” Galer said in the statement. “We acknowledge it, and it will be thoroughly examined through an administrative investigation. We will determine how it happened and take immediate corrective action to prevent it from happening again.”

Galer did not name the officer who arrested Martin.

Investigators now suspect that Martin concealed the gun inside a holding-cell toilet. A few hours later, while awaiting transportation to county jail, investigators suspect he retrieved the firearm and hid it beneath a jail blanket draped over his shoulders.

Sanchez, who did not arrest or search Martin, arrived at the booking facility after the booking.

Martin asked him for water and said he did not feel well. Sanchez brought him water and approached the cell to check on him.

Martin punched Sanchez in the face without warning, threw the blanket over the officer’s head, and repeatedly struck him in the head with the firearm, according to the preliminary investigation detailed in Galen's statement.

Martin then is suspected of firing one round, which investigators believe passed through his own thigh before striking Sanchez below his body armor.

Sanchez continued fighting and prevented Martin from firing again, giving other officers time to enter the facility, disarm Martin, and stop the attack, Galer said. The officers then gave first aid to Sanchez and Martin.

“Officer Sanchez did not survive because Martin stopped his attack or decided to change course,” Galer said. “Officer Sanchez survived because he refused to give up.”

A local hospital treated Martin before authorities booked him into county jail the same day on multiple felony charges, including attempted murder of a police officer.

Galer said the department will investigate the failed searches, but said that failure should not obscure Martin’s actions.

“While the firearm should have never been allowed to make it into our booking facility, it was Martin who knowingly concealed, retrieved and then utilized that firearm to ambush, violently assault and ultimately try to take the life of one of our officers,” Galer said.

Galer thanked the community, elected officials, city staff, first responders, medical personnel, and the Pittsburg officers who responded to the attack.

The chief said he delayed the official release until Pittsburg detectives and Contra County District Attorney’s Office investigators could collect evidence and interview witnesses.

Martin was released from state prison in 2002, after serving seven years of an eight-year prison term for voluntary manslaughter, the East Bay Times reported. Martin had been originally charged with murder to benefit a criminal street gang. He took a plea deal in 2016, according to the East Bay Times.

He is being held without bail at the Martinez Detention Facility and a court date has been for Sept. 16.