FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A former Miccosukee police officer accused of forcing two teens to strip naked during a traffic stop in 2016 has been found guilty on all counts.
The jury reached the verdict Thursday, finding Michael Martinez guilty on two counts of extortion and two counts of unlawful compensation.
According to prosecutors, Martinez pulled over 18-year-old Kyle Shoulta near mile marker 48 of Alligator Alley, near the tribe’s reservation, for running a stop sign on Aug. 5, 2016.
Shoulta and 18-year-old Remy Riley were found to be in possession of drugs and alcohol at the time.
Prosecutors said Martinez offered the couple a deal: run naked and avoid jail.
The teens testified in court Wednesday.
“I was given a choice of go to jail or run, so I took the choice to run naked,” Shoulta said on the witness stand.
Prosecutors also said he solicited a sexual act.
When prosecutors asked Riley if she felt scared, she said, “Of course I felt scared. Of course I felt intimidated.”
Shoulta shot a cell phone video as they followed Martinez to a remote area.
Shoulta said he ran first, and then Martinez turned to Riley.
“I took my pants off. I took my shirt off,” Riley said. “I kind of looked at him like, ‘Is this enough?’ He’s like, ‘That’s it?’ I turned around from them. I turned away. I took my underwear off. I took my bra off. I ran in the opposite direction holding myself. I ran back in the opposite direction holding myself. While I’m in the middle of holding myself, he’s kind of like, ‘Move your hands away from your body so I can see.'”
The teens’ explicit testimony was enough to convict Martinez, and he was placed in handcuffs and prison-bound.
Martinez was fired about a year after the incident and arrested for extortion in 2018.
It was believed that Martinez would speak in his defense in court Wednesday, but he decided against it at the last minute.
Martinez will return to court in November, where he’ll be facing up to 60 years in prison.
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