The Downey Patriot

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Man charged with attempted murder of 10 sheriff's deputies

BELLFLOWER -- A Burbank man was charged Tuesday with the attempted murder of 10 Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies followed by an eight-hour standoff in Bellflower late Thursday night.
 
Juan Manuel Martinez, 40, was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at Bellflower Superior Court. Prosecutors asked that his bail be set at $11 million.
 
Deputy District Attorney Garrett Dameron with the Crimes Against Peace Officers Section is prosecuting the case.
 
Martinez is suspected of shooting and wounding a motorcycle deputy who pulled him over during a DUI checkpoint on Lakewood Boulevard. After abandoning his vehicle, Martinez allegedly fired on four other deputies who arrived to assist the downed deputy.
 
Martinez then allegedly wounded a second deputy as he fled the scene, firing at a second set of deputies before hiding in a small structure for nearly eight hours. He was arrested after a SWAT team fired tear gas into the structure. 
 
Martinez is charged with a total of 13 felony counts, including 10 counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, and one felony count each of false imprisonment of a hostage, dissuading a witness by threat of force and possession of a firearm by a felon. The complaint alleges he discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury to two deputies.
 
If convicted, Martinez faces up to life in state prison.