Court rejects appeal in 2018 North Ridgeville shooting

AKRON — An appeals court has upheld the 14-year prison sentence given to a Lorain man who shot and seriously wounded a woman in North Ridgeville more than four years ago. In a unanimous decision handed down Monday, 9th District Court of Appeals judges Donna Carr, Jennifer Hensal and Betty Sutton rejected the appeal of 24-year-old Christian Martinez. Martinez pleaded guilty to attempted murder in Lorain County Common Pleas Court and was sentenced by Judge John Miraldi in September 2019 to the maximum allowed under Ohio law at the time: Fourteen years in prison. Martinez got 11 years for attempted murder plus another three years for using a gun to commit a felony. The three-year gun specification, as it is called, is mandatory prison time with no possibility of early release and must be served first before the 11-year prison term starts. Siding with the sentence imposed by Miraldi, the appeals court ruled that Martinez didn't point out anything in the court record that would show Miraldi was wrong to give him the maximum sentence. Miraldi had ruled Martinez's crime was "the worst form of the offense," and said Martinez had made his job more difficult because he had not explained why he tried to kill the victim. In his appeal, filed in November 2020, Martinez argued that the maximum sentence was incorrect. He argued he had no prior criminal record, either as an adult or a juvenile; had never held public office; had not had relationship with the victim; and there was no evidence he had been hired to do the crime or that it was part of gang-related activity or motivated by hate. (Contrary to what Martinez told Miraldi at his sentencing, the appeals court found he did have a juvenile criminal record.) Martinez argued that he had never been in prison, never on probation and did not have a pattern of alcohol or drug abuse. He also "argues that he showed genuine remorse for the offense, and he apologized to the victim," according to the appeals court. Martinez "therefore, argues that there were no factors that made the seriousness of the crime more severe," Hensal wrote, and that all of those factors made him less likely to commit crimes in the future. He also argued he was under the influence of the prescription anti-anxiety medication Xanax when he shot Jacqueline Dienes six times as she sat in her car on Jan. 4, 2018. Dienes was parked at the end of Taylor Industrial Parkway in North Ridgeville on a smoke break from her temp job at Invacare in Elyria when Martinez walked up and shot her without provocation, according to police, prosecutors and court records. A co-worker, Jonathon Barnette, had driven Martinez to the dead-end street to smoke marijuana while the two were on a break from their temp jobs at Multi-Link in Elyria. Martinez walked up to Dienes to ask if she had a lighter and when she said she didn't, he shot her six times, according to courtroom testimony and appeals court records. Dienes survived after immediate emergency medical treatment and continues to live in pain. Miraldi also asked Martinez why he had a gun and whether he was involved in a gang initiation or if the story about needing a lighter to smoke marijuana was even true, Hensal wrote. "Pointing to the innocence of the victim, the randomness of the shooting, and the multiple gunshots fired by Mr. Martinez, the trial court concluded that the offense was the worst form of the offense," Hensal wrote. Martinez also claimed "he had a history of having difficulty fitting in with others, and that he had taken Xanax earlier that day," though Hensal noted his "version of the facts, however, had changed multiple times over the course of the investigation" by North Ridgeville police. New information also was provided in the appeal record: After going back to work, Martinez tried to sell the gun to a different coworker, and even asked his employer for a payday advance, the court found. Martinez is being held at Ross Correctional Institution. His earliest release or parole eligibility date is in February 2032, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction website. "While a lot of people try to find loopholes who are already in prison for cases that were justified, this one is because it is a fact he did admit to attempted aggravated murder," Dienes said Monday. "Shot me six times point blank and it is finalized, finally. Even the 14 years is not enough time, especially for my physical conditions that will impair me for the rest of my life." Barnette pleaded guilty to complicity to felonious assault in March and Miraldi sentenced him to four years in prison. Now 26, Barnette is being held at the Lake Erie Correctional Institution. His earliest release date is in March 2026, according to the ODRC website. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com or on Twitter @daveobrienCT.