Diego Martinez, Making False Statements to FBI, Kansas 2024

A Kansas Man Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements in Hate Crime Investigation

A 28-year-old man from Kansas has pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI during a federal hate crime investigation. Diego Martinez, 28, entered his guilty plea in the District of Kansas to one count of making materially false statements to the FBI during an October 2015 voluntary interview.

According to court documents, Martinez provided the FBI with a false alibi for the time of the assault, claiming he was with an unknown woman. However, he admitted that this alibi was false and that he had actually used his phone to contact one of the men who perpetrated the attack.

“Hate violence not only harms individuals but also threatens the diversity of our society and the well-being of our communities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute hate crimes, and to pursue defendants who, like Mr. Martinez, obstruct the investigations into those crimes.”

Martinez will be sentenced on June 1, 2017, and faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Garden City Resident Agency with assistance from the Dodge City Police and the Ford County, Kansas, Sheriff’s Departments.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Risa Berkower and Special Litigation Counsel Jared Fishman of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst of the District of Kansas.

The hate crime in question occurred on June 19, 2015, when three black Somali men were assaulted in Dodge City, Kansas. The investigation into the attack led to Martinez’s guilty plea, which highlights the importance of cooperation with law enforcement in hate crime investigations.

Martinez’s guilty plea serves as a reminder that obstruction of justice will not be tolerated, and those who hinder the investigation of hate crimes will be held accountable.

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