“Basically, he was looking at three years but as soon as he opened his mouth and said 'This is why I did it,' he gave them the motivation of why it occurred and he turned it into a hate crime,” said Drake University Law Professor Bob Rigg.Īmes police say they are providing more officers around the Ames United Church of Christ where Martinez stole the banner. He also faced a maximum of 13 months for the other charges, but because he is a habitual offender, he was eligible to be sentenced to a longer term. Whoever is hired to replace Beinfest had better be prepared to be nothing more than the front man announcing trades and signings, but also the man who will get the blame when any of them go wrong. Adolfo Martinez was convicted of a hate crime for stealing the flag in. Loria and Beinfest have been at odds for years, and Loria has been making all the Marlinsâ baseball decisions for a while now. Martinez faced a maximum of five years in prison for the hate crime and arson charge. The man who set fire to an Iowa church’s rainbow flag has received a 15-year prison sentence. Adolfo Martinez, 30, of Ames, was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years for the hate crime of arson, as well as a year for the reckless use of explosives or fire, and 30 days for harassment. He then carried it a gentleman's club a few blocks away where he doused it with lighter fluid and lit it on fire. Last month, Adolfo Martinez, 30, was convicted. Adolfo Martinez, 30, saw the flag at the Church of Christ in Ames and ripped it down. by Marty Johnson - 12/19/19 2:39 PM ET Getty Images An Iowa man who burned a church LGBTQ flag in June was sentenced to 16 years in prison Wednesday.
He is the first person in the county to be convicted of a hate crime, she added. 'A man has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for burning an LGBTQ flag that was flying at a church in central Iowa. DecemAn Iowa man who burned an LBGTQ flying at a church was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The hate crime charges were added because Martinez is suspected of criminal mischief against someone's property because of "what it represents as far as sexual orientation,” Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds said. Martinez told police that he lit the banner on fire with lighter fluid and a lighter, according to the Des-Moines Register. Pastor Eileen Gebbie of the Ames United Church of Christ posted a statement on the church Facebook page saying the church did not press charges against Martinez.