State Attorney's office suspends aide over DUI

TAMPA — The man who represents the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office on numerous local boards has been suspended from his job after being arrested on a charge of driving under the influence.

His wife turned him in.

Elvin Martinez Jr., 38, refused to take a breath test or perform field sobriety exercises for Tampa police officers, according to incident reports.

"Just take me to jail," he told an officer.

Martinez, who was released from jail after posting $500 bail, could not be reached Monday for comment.

The son of a retired Hillsborough County judge, Martinez works as the community relations administrator for State Attorney Mark Ober. He has served as chairman of the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance and the Family Justice Center, which helps domestic violence victims.

The State Attorney's Office will ask the governor to appoint a special prosecutor to handle his misdemeanor case, Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi said.

"We're aware of the situation and are looking into it," Bondi said. "He is suspended pending the investigation."

Martinez's troubles began just after 10 p.m. Friday, when his wife called 911 to report that her husband was driving recklessly. Alicia Martinez, a judicial assistant for a Hillsborough County judge, said she was following his blue van on Armenia and Hillsborough avenues and that he had crashed into her black Toyota Camry but kept driving.

An officer caught up with the vehicles and saw Elvin Martinez almost crash into another vehicle and then drive in the center of a two-way road toward his home, the report said.

He pulled into his driveway and stopped. He told officers he had driven around the block "to avoid his wife," according to the report, which noted that the couple was having marital problems.

Martinez said he had not collided with his wife's car, claiming that the damage to his van had been caused by his children's bikes.

Officer noted that Martinez's sentences "made little sense," his speech was slurred, and his breath smelled of alcohol. Inside the van, the officer found an empty plastic cup that smelled like beer on the floor board and an unopened can of cold beer.

Colleen Jenkins can be reached at cjenkins@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3337.