Judge Orders Legal Help For Man Accused Of Fatal Shooting

A man defending himself against charges he fatally shot a Blythe store clerk will now receive the help of a legal courier. A Riverside judge ordered a legal courier to be hired for Ernesto Salgado Martinez, 36, who has already been sentenced to death in Arizona for the 1995 killing of public safety officer. During a traffic stop near Phoenix, Martinez shot officer Robert Martin four times and took the officer’s weapon before leaving the scene. Martinez was brought to Riverside County last August to face a charge for allegedly shooting Randip Singh. Several hours after Martinez shot Martin, police say he shot Singh, a Blythe convenience store clerk. In March Martinez decided to represent himself in the Blythe shooting. However Riverside Superior Court Judge Thomas Douglass ordered a legal runner be chosen and approved for Martinez. He is due back in court August 19. Martinez was convicted of the Arizona shooting in 1998 and has exhausted all of his appeals at the state level. One federal appeal remains before his death sentence can be carried out, Deputy District Attorney Pete Nolan said in May.