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Brandon Willie Martin, a former Corona high school baseball standout and pro ball farm system player, pleaded not guilty Tuesday, Sept. 22, to three counts of murder and other charges in connection with the deaths of his father, uncle and a security alarm installer who was working at the Martin family home.
Thursday 9/17 – Corona police responded to a home in the 1000 block of Winthrop Drive at about 6:30 p.m. after receiving a call about a male who was not breathing. Upon arrival, Officers located three male victims at the location. Michael Martin (64 yrs. of Corona) and Barry Swanson (62 yrs. of Riverside) were deceased at the location. Ricky Lee Anderson (51 yrs. of Corona) was found with life threatening injuries and taken to an area hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on Saturday September 19, 2015.
According to a confidential informant close to the investigation (Disclaimer, this story has not been verified with Corona PD): 22yr old Brandon Willie Martin attempted to assault his mother with a pair of scissors a few days ago. The older brother Shawn struck then his brother Brandon with a golf club. The son went to the hospital and was placed on a 5150 hold (72hr Psychiatric Evaluation). Brandon Martin was released Thursday and when he came home he found the ADT worker, father and uncle there at his house. Some sort of altercation occurred. The son of the uncle that was there with Brandon received a text saying to call 911 so he immediately came to the house, talked to a neighbor and asked if he should go inside the house. After going in he found the scene (male lying face down in a pool of blood) and immediately called 911. The ADT worker is dead, the father is dead the uncle was transported to RCH in critical condition. Brandon was possibly in a white Ford Raptor.
On Friday morning (9/18/15) around 9:41am an off duty Corona PD officer spotted the white Ford Raptor wanted in Thursday night’s murder and called for marked police units to conduct a traffic stop. Marked units arrived on scene and Brandon failed to yield thus a police pursuit was initiated and an airship was Riverside Air-1 was requested. After a short pursuit through city streets and a failed PIT maneuver in Corona Brandons Ford Raptor came to rest near Buena Vista & Highgrove St. Brandon ran from the vehicle and entered into a residents where a female was in the shower and was quickly spotted in the 2nd story window. Corona PD quickly setup a perimeter and requested additional units Code-3 as the scene was rapidly evolving. Local area schools were placed on immediate “lockdown” status for everyone’s protection. Brandon jumped from the 2nd story window of the resident and sustained a dog bite by one of the Corona PD K9 dogs. Brandon was taken into custody and was transported to a local hospital with a police escort and will be booked on suspicion of murder.
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Thursday 6:13pm – 6:43pm scanner audio: LINK Part 2: LINK
Friday 9:38am – 10:08am scanner audio: (Starts @ 3:50 in the recording) LINK
Photos from the PE…
Press Release from Corona PD:
On September 17, 2015 at approximately 6:35 p.m., the Corona Police Department responded to the 1000 block of Winthrop Drive, Corona in response to a report of a male not breathing. Upon arrival, Officers located three male victims at the location. Michael Martin (64 yrs. of Corona) and Barry Swanson (62 yrs. of Riverside) were deceased at the location. Ricky Lee Anderson (51 yrs. of Corona) was found with life threatening injuries and taken to an area hospital.
On Saturday, September 19, 2015 at approximately 5:40 p.m. Ricky Lee Anderson succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased.
On September 18, 2015, Brandon Willie Martin (22 yrs. of Corona), nephew of Ricky Anderson and son of Michael Martin, was arrested for homicide of the three deceased.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Sr. Det. Gottfried at the Corona Police Department Hotline: (951) 817-5837.
Article from the Press Enterprise by Gail Wesson:
Brandon Willie Martin, a former Corona high school baseball standout and pro ball farm system player, pleaded not guilty Tuesday, Sept. 22, to three counts of murder and other charges in connection with the deaths of his father, uncle and a security alarm installer who was working at the Martin family home.
A bat was used to inflict the blunt force trauma injuries on Thursday, Sept. 17, that caused their deaths, according to the criminal complaint filed in Riverside County Superior Court. Riverside County District Attorney’s Office spokesman John Hall said he did not have any further description of the weapon used.
Hall said Martin, 22, also was charged with assault in connection with Martin’s use of scissors against his mother on a previous date. The complaint identifies the victims only by first name and last initial.
Corona police, who are investigating the crimes, previously identified the victims as Michael L. Martin, 63, the defendant’s father; Ricky Lee Anderson, 58, the defendant’s uncle; and Barry Swanson, 62, of Riverside, an ADT subcontractor. Martin and Swanson died at the scene of the 6:35 p.m. attack at the home in the 1000 block of Winthrop Drive in Corona, and Anderson died of his injuries at a hospital on Saturday, Sept. 19.
The complaint charges the defendant with making criminal threats and assault with a deadly weapon, a pair of scissors, on Sept. 15, against a woman identified only as Melody M.
Police have previously said the defendant was detained last week on a mental health evaluation but details about the dates and reasons were not immediately available.
Martin’s pleas were given in court by Scott O’Meara, a deputy public defender with the Law Offices of the Public Defender. Joel Renk, another deputy public defender, also spoke during the hearing on Martin’s behalf.
Judge Richard T. Fields set Brandon Willie Martin’s next court appearance as Oct. 1.
Martin was arrested after a vehicle and foot pursuit Friday, Sept. 18, that ended near Foothill Elementary School in Corona. He entered a home, ran through it and jumped out of a second story window before he was bitten by a police K-9 prior to his capture, and subsequently hospitalized for his injuries. He was released from the hospital Monday, Sept. 21.
Jeremy Swanson, one of three adult children of Barry Swanson, talked outside after court, to paint a picture of his father as “the kindest person” who loved life, describing his death as “senseless” and wanting the public to know, “There were lives that were affected. My father should be here.”
