Felon who attacked Richland police sentenced to prison after 10,000+ fentanyl pills found

A Pasco man has been sentenced to 10 years and five months in prison after he assaulted a Richland police officer and then a search of his car found fentanyl.

Police were called to a Richland home in May 2022 where Leonardo Daniel Martinez, now 32, was looking for his former girlfriend at her sister’s house and refused to leave when asked.

Police officers also told him to leave, but he continued to refuse and then attacked a Richland officer, according to court documents.

As police arrested him and patted him down, they found a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.

Because Martinez had a 2017 felony conviction for domestic violence, he was not allowed to have firearms.

Police also searched his BMW after seeing a .22 caliber revolver visible from outside the car.

The search turned up 10,179 fentanyl pills, $72,354 in cash, a small amount of methamphetamine, a digital scale and three cell phones, according to a court document.

Martinez pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

His attorney, Nicholas Marchi, asked for a sentence of 10 years, noting Martinez’s physical and mental condition in court documents. Court documents said that Martinez had a head injury and had lost a leg to amputation.

Martinez, a father of three, wrote a letter to the court apologizing for what he called his selfishness and poor decisions. He said he was a drug addict, but is now sober and thinking with a clear mind.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Pang requested U.S. Judge Stanley Bastian sentence Martinez to 12 years and seven months in jail.

In addition to the prison sentence of 10 years and five months, Bastian sentenced Martinez to five years of probation.

He also was sentenced in Benton County Superior Court to two years and five months incarceration after pleading guilty to third degree assault of a law enforcement officer and possessing guns after a previous conviction. His federal and state sentences will run concurrently.

“Domestic violence offenders are far more likely to engage in intimate partner violence as well as violence directed at law enforcement officers responding to emergency calls,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard Barker for the Eastern Washington District U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“This danger is further exasperated when offenders, like Mr. Martinez, possess large quantities of dangerous narcotics,” he said.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Richland Police Department. It was prosecuted by Pang and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Van Marter.