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Fresno Woman Arrested For Having a Bad Dream
Denise Martin shared a dream she had with a friend. Her friend told the dream to Martin’s former employer and this led to Martin’s arrest and imprisonment.
FRESNO WOMAN ARRESTED FOR HAVING A BAD DREAM
By Mike Rhodes
January 18, 2004
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream about racial equality. We celebrate King’s dream and vision every year at this time. Dr. King’s shared his dream with the world, but in a bizarre story out of Fresno California, a woman was arrested and spent time in jail for sharing her dream with a friend. Denise Martin shared her dream, which was about killing her bosses, with a friend she had known since high school. Her friend then told Martin’s former employers about the dream and they called the police. Martin thought she was telling her friend about the dream, which she described as a nightmare, in confidence. She was taken into custody on May 5, 2002 but was released on her own recognizance until December 2003 when she was put in jail and held without bail. Martin has no prior criminal record.
Denise Martin was brought into court last Friday in a Fresno County jail jumpsuit with her hands and ankles shackled. She had spent her 53rd birthday, Christmas, and New Year’s behind bars because she had a dream about killing her ex- bosses, one of whom is married to a judge. After a two hour hearing, Judge Franklin P. Jones, released Martin from jail and told her she did not have to post bail. She must return to court on February 17, 2004 to face 5 charges of making terrorist threats. Two Fresno Bee article about this story can be seen at:
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/crime/story/7985784p-8852489c.html
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/8015672p-8880105c.html
There was an equally strange story in Fresno a couple of months ago when City Council member Jerry Duncan made what many interpreted as a terrorist threat. Duncan sent an email, during a City Council meeting stating that “If I had one dirty bomb ... I could eliminate all the liberals in Fresno at once." At the time the email was written, the City Council chambers were filled with members of the progressive community, who were there to defend the Human Relation Commission. For background on this incident go to: http://sfbay.indymedia.org/news/2003/09/1646466.php Members of the human relations commission asked the Fresno Police Department to investigate this threat but they were told that there was nothing they could do. The FPD said that it would be a conflict of interest for them to investigate a member of the City Council. Of course, that conflict of interest did not stop the FPD’s investigation of a certain progressive African American City Council member several years ago.
In the current political environment of hyper sensitivity to terrorist threats, why did the FPD ignore a written threat directed at the progressive community? Instead, they arrested and jailed someone for having a dream! Are there implications or lessons here for other workers who might have bad thoughts or dare to dream about their employers demise? Are the new laws being implemented as a result of the passage of the Patriot Act only intended to apply to the working class and the poor or will the ruling class be held accountable for their actions as well?
Until we know the answer to these questions you might want to be careful about what you dream, or at least who you share those dreams with.
###
By Mike Rhodes
January 18, 2004
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream about racial equality. We celebrate King’s dream and vision every year at this time. Dr. King’s shared his dream with the world, but in a bizarre story out of Fresno California, a woman was arrested and spent time in jail for sharing her dream with a friend. Denise Martin shared her dream, which was about killing her bosses, with a friend she had known since high school. Her friend then told Martin’s former employers about the dream and they called the police. Martin thought she was telling her friend about the dream, which she described as a nightmare, in confidence. She was taken into custody on May 5, 2002 but was released on her own recognizance until December 2003 when she was put in jail and held without bail. Martin has no prior criminal record.
Denise Martin was brought into court last Friday in a Fresno County jail jumpsuit with her hands and ankles shackled. She had spent her 53rd birthday, Christmas, and New Year’s behind bars because she had a dream about killing her ex- bosses, one of whom is married to a judge. After a two hour hearing, Judge Franklin P. Jones, released Martin from jail and told her she did not have to post bail. She must return to court on February 17, 2004 to face 5 charges of making terrorist threats. Two Fresno Bee article about this story can be seen at:
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/crime/story/7985784p-8852489c.html
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/8015672p-8880105c.html
There was an equally strange story in Fresno a couple of months ago when City Council member Jerry Duncan made what many interpreted as a terrorist threat. Duncan sent an email, during a City Council meeting stating that “If I had one dirty bomb ... I could eliminate all the liberals in Fresno at once." At the time the email was written, the City Council chambers were filled with members of the progressive community, who were there to defend the Human Relation Commission. For background on this incident go to: http://sfbay.indymedia.org/news/2003/09/1646466.php Members of the human relations commission asked the Fresno Police Department to investigate this threat but they were told that there was nothing they could do. The FPD said that it would be a conflict of interest for them to investigate a member of the City Council. Of course, that conflict of interest did not stop the FPD’s investigation of a certain progressive African American City Council member several years ago.
In the current political environment of hyper sensitivity to terrorist threats, why did the FPD ignore a written threat directed at the progressive community? Instead, they arrested and jailed someone for having a dream! Are there implications or lessons here for other workers who might have bad thoughts or dare to dream about their employers demise? Are the new laws being implemented as a result of the passage of the Patriot Act only intended to apply to the working class and the poor or will the ruling class be held accountable for their actions as well?
Until we know the answer to these questions you might want to be careful about what you dream, or at least who you share those dreams with.
###
For more information:
http://www.fresnoalliance.com/home
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The missing link here is what exactly did Denise tell her friend and what did her friend tell Denise’s co-workers. I see that old telephone game here happening here. Or maybe Denise Martin needs to pick better friends with whom she shares things with.
Charges in dream case are dropped
Fresnan was accused after nightmare about killing former bosses.
By Matt Leedy
The Fresno Bee
(Updated Wednesday, February 18, 2004, 6:00 AM)
Almost two years after a violent dream thrust Denise Martin into a torrent of anxiety and accusations, her legal nightmare came to an abrupt end Tuesday morning in Fresno County Superior Court.
Martin, charged with five counts of making criminal threats, stood with her attorney waiting for her trial to begin.
Before arriving at the towering downtown courthouse, Martin had played the scenarios in her mind.
She thought about the vindication of not-guilty verdicts. She also imagined a conviction that could lead to five years and eight months in prison. Martin would lose her home near Woodward Park. Her reputation, already tarnished, would be forever damaged.
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"It consumes your thoughts 24/7," Martin said. She was not prepared, however, for what happened Tuesday: Prosecutors dismissed the charges against her without much explanation.
Moments later, in a courtroom hallway, Martin hugged her attorney, Margarita Martinez, and asked, "Are you sure? Oh, my God, I'm free?"
Martin was sent to jail in December after telling a former co-worker that she dreamed of killing the bosses who had fired her. Martin said she uncovered misconduct at Lockheed Martin IMS and believed she was being unfairly prosecuted because one of her alleged targets is the husband of a judge in Fresno.
Martin spent 39 days behind bars, including Christmas, New Year's and her 53rd birthday. She was released from Fresno County Jail in January without having to post bail.
"This has been pure hell for me," said Martin, who has no criminal record. "I never even had a speeding ticket. I own a home. This should have never happened to me.
"I'm a decent person. I'm not a loser, but you feel like a loser in jail."
Martinez said she also expected a trial to begin Tuesday. She had spent the long holiday weekend preparing for trial and said she was ready.
There was no indication the charges would be dropped, said Martinez, who planned to subpoena 40 to 50 witnesses. Instead, "the nightmare's over, thank God," she said.
The charges against Martin also were dismissed once last year, only to be refiled by prosecutors a month later. The second dismissal on Tuesday invokes a state law that ensures she won't face the charges again.
Prosecutor Jeff Hammerschmidt would not say why the charges against Martin were dropped Tuesday.
One of Hammerschmidt's supervisors, Chief Assistant District Attorney Don Penner, said he could not comment on details of the prosecution's case. He would only say: "We evaluated the evidence that was available for trial and made a determination that there was not sufficient evidence to obtain a conviction."
In May 2002, Martin said, she had a nightmare in which she confronted former bosses and shot them in the head.
The next day, court records show, she called a former co-worker, Debbie McGowan, and told her about the dream. Martin had known McGowan since high school and believed her conversation was confidential, Martinez has said.
McGowan, however, told her bosses the next day, and they called police. Martin was arrested in May 2002 but posted bail. She was ordered back to jail in December, with no opportunity for bail, before again being released more than a month later while she awaited trial.
In previous court hearings, prosecutors said Martin owned a revolver and was capable of carrying out specific threats, including walking into Lockheed Martin IMS to fire bullets into her supervisors' heads, reloading her gun and shooting two more co-workers.
At a preliminary hearing, McGowan testified that Martin said she had thoughts of going to her work and killing people.
One of Martin's alleged targets was Ken Wiseman, prosecutors said.
Wiseman's wife is Rebecca Wiseman, a judge with the 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno.
Martin said she was previously offered a plea deal by prosecutors, which would have allowed her to admit to one count of making criminal threats in exchange for dropping the other four.
Martin never considered the offer, "because I knew in my heart I was innocent. I've always been an ethical individual. I felt I had to fight."
However, the accusations, court hearings and jail time took their toll, Martin said. "Basically, they broke my spirit."
Although the charges were dropped and she doesn't expect to ever wear a green jail jumpsuit again or walk into a courtroom shackled at the hands and ankles, Martin still describes herself as damaged.
"I have a feeling it's ruined my reputation," Martin said. "This really can destroy a person's life."
The reporter can be reached at mleedy [at] fresnobee.com or 441-6208.
Fresnan was accused after nightmare about killing former bosses.
By Matt Leedy
The Fresno Bee
(Updated Wednesday, February 18, 2004, 6:00 AM)
Almost two years after a violent dream thrust Denise Martin into a torrent of anxiety and accusations, her legal nightmare came to an abrupt end Tuesday morning in Fresno County Superior Court.
Martin, charged with five counts of making criminal threats, stood with her attorney waiting for her trial to begin.
Before arriving at the towering downtown courthouse, Martin had played the scenarios in her mind.
She thought about the vindication of not-guilty verdicts. She also imagined a conviction that could lead to five years and eight months in prison. Martin would lose her home near Woodward Park. Her reputation, already tarnished, would be forever damaged.
Advertisement
"It consumes your thoughts 24/7," Martin said. She was not prepared, however, for what happened Tuesday: Prosecutors dismissed the charges against her without much explanation.
Moments later, in a courtroom hallway, Martin hugged her attorney, Margarita Martinez, and asked, "Are you sure? Oh, my God, I'm free?"
Martin was sent to jail in December after telling a former co-worker that she dreamed of killing the bosses who had fired her. Martin said she uncovered misconduct at Lockheed Martin IMS and believed she was being unfairly prosecuted because one of her alleged targets is the husband of a judge in Fresno.
Martin spent 39 days behind bars, including Christmas, New Year's and her 53rd birthday. She was released from Fresno County Jail in January without having to post bail.
"This has been pure hell for me," said Martin, who has no criminal record. "I never even had a speeding ticket. I own a home. This should have never happened to me.
"I'm a decent person. I'm not a loser, but you feel like a loser in jail."
Martinez said she also expected a trial to begin Tuesday. She had spent the long holiday weekend preparing for trial and said she was ready.
There was no indication the charges would be dropped, said Martinez, who planned to subpoena 40 to 50 witnesses. Instead, "the nightmare's over, thank God," she said.
The charges against Martin also were dismissed once last year, only to be refiled by prosecutors a month later. The second dismissal on Tuesday invokes a state law that ensures she won't face the charges again.
Prosecutor Jeff Hammerschmidt would not say why the charges against Martin were dropped Tuesday.
One of Hammerschmidt's supervisors, Chief Assistant District Attorney Don Penner, said he could not comment on details of the prosecution's case. He would only say: "We evaluated the evidence that was available for trial and made a determination that there was not sufficient evidence to obtain a conviction."
In May 2002, Martin said, she had a nightmare in which she confronted former bosses and shot them in the head.
The next day, court records show, she called a former co-worker, Debbie McGowan, and told her about the dream. Martin had known McGowan since high school and believed her conversation was confidential, Martinez has said.
McGowan, however, told her bosses the next day, and they called police. Martin was arrested in May 2002 but posted bail. She was ordered back to jail in December, with no opportunity for bail, before again being released more than a month later while she awaited trial.
In previous court hearings, prosecutors said Martin owned a revolver and was capable of carrying out specific threats, including walking into Lockheed Martin IMS to fire bullets into her supervisors' heads, reloading her gun and shooting two more co-workers.
At a preliminary hearing, McGowan testified that Martin said she had thoughts of going to her work and killing people.
One of Martin's alleged targets was Ken Wiseman, prosecutors said.
Wiseman's wife is Rebecca Wiseman, a judge with the 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno.
Martin said she was previously offered a plea deal by prosecutors, which would have allowed her to admit to one count of making criminal threats in exchange for dropping the other four.
Martin never considered the offer, "because I knew in my heart I was innocent. I've always been an ethical individual. I felt I had to fight."
However, the accusations, court hearings and jail time took their toll, Martin said. "Basically, they broke my spirit."
Although the charges were dropped and she doesn't expect to ever wear a green jail jumpsuit again or walk into a courtroom shackled at the hands and ankles, Martin still describes herself as damaged.
"I have a feeling it's ruined my reputation," Martin said. "This really can destroy a person's life."
The reporter can be reached at mleedy [at] fresnobee.com or 441-6208.
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