After a daylong hearing that featured emotional testimony from his friends and family, former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe Martinez is free to walk for at least another month as his sentencing on public corruption charges has been postponed to September.
Martinez was charged in 2022 with unlawful compensation and conspiracy to commit unlawful compensation in a case involving $15,000 in payments from a business owner facing code violations, according to authorities. He was removed from office by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The state is seeking 34 months in custody, which is at the bottom of sentencing guidelines. But Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Miguel de la O signaled to the courtroom that he'd like to give Martinez a reduced sentence after hearing hours of testimony about Martinez's deeds as a law enforcement officer and public servant.
Martinez, a former police lieutenant, served on the County Commission off and on since 2000 and considered making a run for Miami-Dade sheriff in 2024.
Investigators said Martinez accepted $15,000 from a supermarket owner who was facing repeated fines for having too many storage units on the property. In exchange for the money, authorities said Martinez pushed legislation that would allow the supermarket and its landlord to legally have their storage containers. The legislation ultimately did not pass.
Martinez's lawyers asked the court to grant him a reduced sentence of three years probation, house arrest for one year, as well as 150 hours of community service and a mandatory public officials ethics program. They also noted that Martinez intends to appeal his conviction.
"Now a disgraced, humiliated, and publicly known as a corrupt public official, Joe Martinez has been punished in ways far more severe than anticipated by the Criminal Punishment Code. Despite his heretofore extraordinary reputation as a public servant committed to the welfare of ordinary Miami-Dade County citizens, Joe Martinez is now only a former police officer who is seen as having succumbed to the corrosive and corrupted influence of money and politics," his attorneys wrote in a recent court filing.
During his sentencing hearing, scores of individuals from Martinez's life spoke as character witnesses on his behalf including former Miami-Dade County Budget Director Jennifer Moon, County Commissioner Keon Hardemon, and Florida International University Police Department Chief Alexander Casas.
Casas told the courtroom he got to know Martinez while he was a major in the Miami-Dade Police Department representing Martinez's county commission district.
"I've known him to be a man of principle, humility and strong moral character," Casas said.
Testimony included tearful and impassioned pleas from Martinez's two daughters and his wife, Ana Martinez, who spoke of Joe's integrity and the toll the legal proceedings have taken on him.
"I have seen the effect this has had on him emotionally and physically," Ana said. "I am proud to be his wife and I find it hard to believe the law wouldn’t take into consideration that somebody has done so much good. Please don't take him away from me."
Olga Martinez, Joe's elder daughter, told the judge she was studying law herself and wanted her father to be there for her graduation this year.
READ MORE: DeSantis suspends Miami-Dade commissioner Joe Martinez amid corruption case
Judge de la O told Olga that her father "will be there for your graduation," electing to postpone the sentencing until a Sept. 15 hearing. De la O said he wants to side with Martinez's lawyers and give the former commissioner a reduced sentence, but needs to ensure that it is legal for him to do so.
"I was prepared today when I walked in to deny your motion," he told Martinez's lawyers, "but I agree with Mrs. Martinez who said it's hard to believe I'm not allowed to take into account the extraordinary deeds that Mr. Martinez did in setting a sentence."
After a 17-year police career, Martinez was elected to the commission in 2000. He gave up the seat in 2012 for an unsuccessful run for county mayor, then failed in a 2014 Republican campaign for Congress. He was elected to rejoin the commission in 2016 and reelected in 2020.
