Having eluded capture for more than a week after slipping away from a prisoner escort inside one of the nation’s busiest airports, Tyler Martinez’s luck ran out on St. Patrick’s Day more than 700 miles away in Georgia, 12 News confirmed Friday.Police in Brookhaven, Georgia, arrested Martinez in their jurisdiction March 17, according to Dekalb County Jail records. Brown County (WI) Sheriff’s Office Capt. Dave Poteat said investigators developed leads on Martinez’s whereabouts in four states where they believed he committed crimes after his March 8 escape from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.“We have been in contact with those investigators. He appears to be a good suspect for those,” Poteat told WBAY-TV in an interview Thursday, “We’re glad that he’s in custody, obviously.”According to a March 9 news release from the sheriff’s office, Martinez, 31, was being escorted from California to Wisconsin to face outstanding burglary, drugs and weapons charges in Brown County. While waiting for a connecting flight from O’Hare to the Appleton airport, the escort was getting food for Martinez when he “turned his attention away” and Martinez ran off, according to the release.When the escort could not find Martinez, he contacted Chicago police at the airport, the release said. Officers reviewed camera footage from inside the airport which the release said showed Martinez had slipped off one of the handcuffs he was wearing.Surveillance video obtained by 12 News through a Freedom of Information Act request shows a person officials identified as Martinez outside the airport casually boarding a car rental shuttle bus.At the time, it was believed Martinez did not have money or means of communication.Poteat said it did not take long to develop a lead.”We learned he had obtained a vehicle in Chicago that was stolen, so we had that license plate. Obviously, Chicago entered that into the system,” Poteat said.The captain said that lead directed investigators to Iowa where he said Martinez stole a license plate and purchased a cellphone.As investigators were tracking that device, Poteat said Martinez traveled to Nebraska and Oklahoma before ending up in Georgia, where Brookhaven Police arrested him March 17. Reached by phone late Friday evening, Brown County Sheriff’s Detective Marc Shield said officers were alerted to a vehicle which had stolen Iowa license plates.Police moved in and made the arrest, Shield said.“We’re glad that he’s in custody, obviously. It’s unfortunate that we had to look for him again, but we’re glad he’s in custody,” Poteat said.It was the second time in recent months Martinez had been a wanted fugitive. Before the airport transfer, Martinez had been a suspect in multiple storage unit thefts in Brown County. The Ashwaubenon Public Safety department in February had also published a wanted poster with Martinez’s mugshot. “We would like to have a discussion with Mr. Martinez. If you know where he is please contact your local law enforcement or reach out to Investigator Dufek,” the Feb. 2 Facebook post said.Police in Los Angeles County found Martinez in a vehicle stolen from Ashwaubenon and arrested him, WBAY-TV reported. His arrest in California prompted Brown County Sheriff’s officials to contact REDI Transports, a prisoner transport company with a troubled history, to extradite Martinez from California to Wisconsin.After learning of Martinez’s escape from O’Hare during his extradition, Brown County Sheriff Todd Delain said he was immediately suspending the contract the sheriff’s office had with the Green Bay-based transport company.”The breach of secure custody during this transport violates the standards of service expected by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office,” Delain said in a news release.The attorney listed in Martinez’s online court records in Georgia could not be reached for comment. It is unclear when his next court appearance is or when he might be extradited back to Wisconsin. Delain said he was still deciding the department’s next moves in terms of prisoner transportation.The Wisconsin Department of Corrections also has a contract with REDI Transports, however state officials were not involved with the Martinez case or his extradition. State officials are, however, amending the contract it holds with U.S. Corrections, a private prisoner transport company which lost custody of Robert Johnson during a transport through Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport in Sept. 2021.Johnson is still on the run.The change in the U.S. Corrections contract was the result of the transport company not alerting local law enforcement the transport was happening at the local airport.
BROOKHAVEN, Ga. —
Having eluded capture for more than a week after slipping away from a prisoner escort inside one of the nation’s busiest airports, Tyler Martinez’s luck ran out on St. Patrick’s Day more than 700 miles away in Georgia, 12 News confirmed Friday.
Police in Brookhaven, Georgia, arrested Martinez in their jurisdiction March 17, according to Dekalb County Jail records.
Brown County (WI) Sheriff’s Office Capt. Dave Poteat said investigators developed leads on Martinez’s whereabouts in four states where they believed he committed crimes after his March 8 escape from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
“We have been in contact with those investigators. He appears to be a good suspect for those,” Poteat told WBAY-TV in an interview Thursday, “We’re glad that he’s in custody, obviously.”
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According to a March 9 news release from the sheriff’s office, Martinez, 31, was being escorted from California to Wisconsin to face outstanding burglary, drugs and weapons charges in Brown County. While waiting for a connecting flight from O’Hare to the Appleton airport, the escort was getting food for Martinez when he “turned his attention away” and Martinez ran off, according to the release.
When the escort could not find Martinez, he contacted Chicago police at the airport, the release said. Officers reviewed camera footage from inside the airport which the release said showed Martinez had slipped off one of the handcuffs he was wearing.
Surveillance video obtained by 12 News through a Freedom of Information Act request shows a person officials identified as Martinez outside the airport casually boarding a car rental shuttle bus.
At the time, it was believed Martinez did not have money or means of communication.
Poteat said it did not take long to develop a lead.
“We learned he had obtained a vehicle in Chicago that was stolen, so we had that license plate. Obviously, Chicago entered that into the system,” Poteat said.
The captain said that lead directed investigators to Iowa where he said Martinez stole a license plate and purchased a cellphone.
As investigators were tracking that device, Poteat said Martinez traveled to Nebraska and Oklahoma before ending up in Georgia, where Brookhaven Police arrested him March 17. Reached by phone late Friday evening, Brown County Sheriff’s Detective Marc Shield said officers were alerted to a vehicle which had stolen Iowa license plates.
Police moved in and made the arrest, Shield said.
“We’re glad that he’s in custody, obviously. It’s unfortunate that we had to look for him again, but we’re glad he’s in custody,” Poteat said.
It was the second time in recent months Martinez had been a wanted fugitive. Before the airport transfer, Martinez had been a suspect in multiple storage unit thefts in Brown County. The Ashwaubenon Public Safety department in February had also published a wanted poster with Martinez’s mugshot.
“We would like to have a discussion with Mr. Martinez. If you know where he is please contact your local law enforcement or reach out to Investigator Dufek,” the Feb. 2 Facebook post said.
Police in Los Angeles County found Martinez in a vehicle stolen from Ashwaubenon and arrested him, WBAY-TV reported. His arrest in California prompted Brown County Sheriff’s officials to contact REDI Transports, a prisoner transport company with a troubled history, to extradite Martinez from California to Wisconsin.
After learning of Martinez’s escape from O’Hare during his extradition, Brown County Sheriff Todd Delain said he was immediately suspending the contract the sheriff’s office had with the Green Bay-based transport company.
“The breach of secure custody during this transport violates the standards of service expected by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office,” Delain said in a news release.
The attorney listed in Martinez’s online court records in Georgia could not be reached for comment. It is unclear when his next court appearance is or when he might be extradited back to Wisconsin.
Delain said he was still deciding the department’s next moves in terms of prisoner transportation.
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections also has a contract with REDI Transports, however state officials were not involved with the Martinez case or his extradition.
State officials are, however, amending the contract it holds with U.S. Corrections, a private prisoner transport company which lost custody of Robert Johnson during a transport through Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport in Sept. 2021.
Johnson is still on the run.
The change in the U.S. Corrections contract was the result of the transport company not alerting local law enforcement the transport was happening at the local airport.
