WORTHINGTON - Bobby Lee Martin, 26, of Worthington, appeared in court Tuesday for contested omnibus hearings in two separate cases.
Martin is charged with third-degree burglary, a felony, following an alleged incident in June at the Thompson Apartments.
Additionally, Martin faces a charge of possessing a firearm following a conviction for a crime of violence, also a felony. In the second case, Martin is accused of possessing a BB gun in a public place.
Martin’s counsel told Judge Gordon Moore his client was waiving an omnibus hearing in that matter and wished to proceed to being arraigned in the matter. Martin entered a plea of not guilty on the felony charge along with a gross misdemeanor offense of carrying a BB gun in a public place. The defense requested a one-day jury trial to be set for the case.
In the burglary case, the defense said it questioned probable cause in the matter with specific concerns regarding the sufficiency of the evidence against Martin and that the evidence was considered circumstantial.
According to court documents, a man with dreadlocks with blue tips, later identified as Martin, was observed breaking into an apartment inside the Thompson Apartments building. The victim claimed Martin had visited him the day before and while in the apartment asked how much the Playstation 4 the men were playing was worth. The Playstation 4, 10 games, a pair of basketball shoes and some clothing valued at a total of $1,000 were stolen from the property.
Judge Moore asked both the defense and prosecution to submit briefs arguing their positions in the case. Martin was provisionally arraigned in the case entering not-guilty pleas to the felony charge, a gross misdemeanor count of theft and a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree damage to property. If the case moves on to trial, it will likely be a two-day jury trial set along with the gun case.
Martin is also scheduled for a two-day jury trial in February on simple robbery charges following a separate incident at the Thompson Apartments. In that case, Martin is charged with robbing and assaulting Jesus Piceno along with two accomplices, Ojulu Omot Omot and Joseph Cole Tokpa. Omot and Tokpa each pleaded guilty in the case.
