HONOLULU (KHON2) — A public safety officer, in charge of training deputies and adult corrections officers, has been arrested. J. Marte Martinez has been charged with perjury and tampering with government records.
The State Attorney General’s office said its investigators arrested Martinez Thursday morning at her office in Iwilei. Court records say the public safety training officer has been charged with 14 counts from incidents that occurred from 2015 to 2019.
Martinez faces two counts of perjury, which are felony charges, six counts of tampering with a government record, and six counts of unsworn falsification to authorities.
According to court records, prosecutors accused Martinez of submitting forged transcripts from two universities.
“According to the charging documents she was able to use that to become certified to now train deputy sheriffs and adult corrections officers. And so it really starts to call into question whether or not they were properly certified by someone who actually wasn’t qualified themselves.”
Doug Chin, Former State Attorney General
Court records revealed that Martinez lied when she testified under oath to the Hawaii Labor Relations Board. When asked where she got her degree, she said, “I have a degree from El Dorado, a degree from NOVA, Northern Virginia.”
Records stated that when she submitted her application to be a Firearms Training Specialist, she made statements about her educational background that she did not believe to be true.
Chin points out that lying on a resume isn’t illegal but it is in this case.
“It has very serious ramifications on whoever this person trained or certified themselves based upon their fake training,” said Chin.
The Department of Public Safety sent a statement saying it “holds their employees regardless of rank or title to the highest standard of integrity and will hold them accountable if they breach the public’s trust.”
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Martinez has been released from custody after posting bail of $11,000.
