Judge orders Ray Martinez to surrender himself by Friday

Former V.I. Police Commissioner Ray Martinez must surrender himself into federal custody by Friday morning, after a judge denied his request to remain free so he can receive medical treatment before going to prison.

In an order entered Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Mark Kearney said he found no reason to further delay Martinez’s surrender “given the extensive medical treatment available to him awaiting sentencing.”

Martinez and co-defendant Jenifer O’Neal, the former Office and Management and Budget director, were found guilty of bribery and wire fraud at trial in December, and both are currently scheduled to be sentenced in June.

Evidence showed they manipulated government contracts for personal gain, and prosecutors said Martinez received “at least $110,358” in bribes, while O’Neal received $17,730, which they each used to help open restaurants on St. Thomas — Don Felito’s Cookshop, and Java Grande. O’Neal was allowed to remain free pending sentencing, and Kearney granted her request to travel “from Saint Thomas to her permanent residence in Maryland” from Jan. 8 through Jan. 18 for “scheduled appointments with her medical doctor, orthodontist, and dentist.”

Martinez was also allowed to remain free after the jury’s verdict, but was ordered to self-surrender on Feb. 17.

His defense attorneys recently filed a motion to delay his surrender until sentencing, and said Martinez needs emergency dental surgery and is suffering from a suspected kidney infection. They argued that Martinez’s medical conditions cannot be adequately addressed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, “where in our experience for over a decade the medical bay’s access to specialists is severely limited, diagnostic procedures are often delayed, dental care is minimal and emergency-only and treatment decisions are made by non-specialists with limited resources.”