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Jury acquits Manteca man of assault charges
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A Manteca man who was accused of using his SUV to run down two people trying to serve him a restraining order has been acquitted of all charges.
Jonathan Allen Martin, 37 was arrested following an incident on March 22, 2016 after police were notified that a man had run over the foot of another person, and had used his vehicle to ram the person who was trying to serve him with legal paperwork – following them for a period before confronting them.
According to statements provided to Manteca Police, a 32-year-old woman and her 51-year-old friend had attempted to serve him with paperwork at his home, and after their unsuccessful attempt noticed that somebody was following them in their rearview mirror. The woman said that she made several attempts to maneuver away from the pursuing driver, who was also coming close to hitting her vehicle. When she came to a stop at the corner of Center Street and Maple Avenue, in front of the Manteca Post office, to let her friend out of the vehicle, the driver of the pursuing car accelerated and struck her vehicle as it was parked. According to the woman’s statement, the driver of the other vehicle accelerated away from the scene – running over the foot of the 51-year-old man and striking him with his driver’s side mirror as he fled.
Martin was arrested the following morning by Manteca Police officers who had found him at his Manteca home. His vehicle was subsequently impounded for evidence.
Martin, who maintained his innocence, took the case to trial and last week was exonerated by a San Joaquin County Jury who failed to find the legal threshold that he committed the crimes – two counts of assault with a deadly weapon – beyond a reasonable doubt.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.