Raymond Martin facing new charges; forfeiture underway

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

By admin

Published: March 4, 2010

U.S. DISTRICT COURT, BENTON, Ill.—It looks like there’ll be no vakay for RayRay.

Jailed Gallatin County sheriff Raymond Martin has just been the subject of the federal grand jury in Benton (again), and the grand jury has handed down superceding indictments to add to the ever-growing list of offenses federal authorities believe Martin committed since late 2008.

That was when a confidential informant began working with the feds to bring down the sheriff, who had been rumored to be running his own little pot-running operation in Gallatin and through the southern part of Illinois into other states.

The feds found credible evidence, after a seven-month investigation that involved every form of surveillance available to the state police and DEA, to indict Martin on multiple charges of distributing marijuana and weapons charges (for allegedly using his gun while making a threat to his CI, who was moving the dope for him).

He was later charged with a conspiracy count.

Now the feds have enhanced the indictment to read as it appears at the following link:

No vakay for RayRay

(We call it that because police sources have been telling us that Martin has told members of his family that when he gets to take the stand in his federal jury trial April 12 [which will probably now be continued], he’ll get to ‘tell the whole story’ and ‘explain everything,’ and when the feds see what a mistake they made, they’ll let him go…then the whole fam can go on a nice vacation to the islands. Seriously. You can’t make this shit up.)

In plain English, he’s charged with the following from start to finish:

Distributing approximately 430 grams of marijuana on April 27, 2009 (count 1), approximately 443.4 grams of marijuana on May 4, 2009 (count 2), and approximately 209.4 grams of marijuana on May 11, 2009 (count 3);

Carrying a firearm during an in relation to a drug trafficking crime on May 4, 2009, his Smith & Wesson .357 service revolver (count 4), which he’s now been ordered to forfeit (along with all ammunition), and on May 11, 2009 (count 5), ordered for forfeiture under same;

Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana from November 2008 to on or about May 18, 2009 (when he was arrested), and as a result of this, a forfeiture allegation has been filed under the count (count 6). This forfeiture includes funds or good derived from the sale of the marijuana, his house at 9400 Sawmill Road, Junction and the property on which it sits (about 15 acres); and any property he may have sold or given away in lieu of sale since his arrest;

Witness tampering by attempting to use physical force from September to November 2009, when he attempted to hire Thomas Hayden to kill a confidential informant in the case, Jeremy Potts (count 7); a second count of witness tampering by attempting to use physical force from November to December 30, 2009, when he attempted to hire Kevin Brown to kill Potts (count 8); a third count of witness tampering by attempting to use physical force from November to December 30, 2009, when he attempted to hire Kevin Brown to kill David Woods (count 9) and a fourth count of witness tampering by attempting to use physical force from September to November 2009 when he attempted to hire Thomas Hayden to kill David Woods (count 10);

Witness tampering by attempting to intimidate, threaten and corruptly persuade a witness not to testify from September to November 9, 2009 by Hayden to influence one of the confidential informants (it doesn’t specify with, Potts or Woods), in this case, to kill him  (count 11); and the same for Brown from November to December 30, 2009, to influence the other of Potts or Woods under the same circumstance (count 12); and realleging for Brown’s ‘influence’ toward Potts or Woods as counts 13 and 14.

Count 15 is the booger for Raymond: Attempted structuring of financial transactions. This is alleged to have occurred when on or about December 30, 2009, he attempted to withdraw cash in amounts less than $10,000 from Integra Bank in Shawneetown, this ostensibly and allegedly to pay the hit men, Hayden and Brown. The feds are asking forfeiture of accounts in the name of his mother in law, Marlene Naas for his little son, Trey; his wife Tina’s son Mason Koester; Tina’s other son, James A. Koester (two accounts) and funds represented by a cashier’s check drawn on that bank payable to Naas or Kelly Sutton. Since it was noted last May that large sums of cash were seized during the raid on Martin’s home upon his arrest, all of this is likely other cash that’s been collected since that time, NOT what was seized in the Martin safe last May; the feds likely already have that.

There is also an amount, according to paperwork, specifically requested of $32,400. Of course Raymond has been receiving his county-supported paycheck for being sheriff since he’s been sitting in federal holding. Too bad the feds can’t give that money back to the Gallatin County taxpayers, since it’s likely THEIRS. So this amount is roughly what Martin has taken in from the taxpayers since his arrest last May—without taxes being taken out. So the feds want THAT amount back, and RayRay is responsible for the taxes too, or the feds will probably turn him over to the IRS.

The feds are asking that if these funds aren’t readily available to them to seize, then whoever is holding them must give them up. If the Naases are holding them—or if that’s what they used to bail Tina out of jail or pay for her attorney—then that’s what the feds are pointing toward.

What it boils down to is that the investigators have done a thorough job ensuring that there were federal charges to be had out of what Martin is alleged to have done while incarcerated in Jackson County in attempting to hire Brown and Hayden to kill Potts and Woods, federal witnesses. Good job, investigators! Martin is scheduled for an arraignment on the charges next Tuesday (03.09.10) in Benton.

Who says there isn’t a huge amount of conspiracy in southern Illinois? You can’t make this shit up. And just wait til the feds get around to identifying who was in that white truck they saw Martin allegedly ‘do business with’ in GallCo, and when they begin to nail whoever is allowing ‘the Mexicans’ to allegedly help him with the trafficking from Texas to Illinois and points north.

This isn’t over. Believe it.

 Email This Post