Man pleads no contest to having weapons, drugs found by police in his car
Wesley Charles Martines, arrested in Campbell last summer, had personally inscribed bullets
A Los Gatos man has pleaded no contest to an array of weapons-related crimes in connection with his arrest in Campbell last summer after a chance police stop and search of his car turned up illegal rifles, pipe bomb materials and personally inscribed bullets with phrases in- cluding “Cop killer.”
What made the case particularly notorious was the recovery of a manifesto and journal writings that mapped out specific kidnapping and robbery plots at locations in the Bay Area and beyond, and described genocidal fantasies to “wipe out the Black, Hispanic and Jewish populations,” according to authorities.
Wesley Charles Martines, 33, pleaded no contest July 20 to a dozen drug- and weapons-related charges in a San Jose courtroom, in accordance with an agreement reached between his attorneys and the Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Pending a judge's final approval at a Dec. 2 sentencing hearing, Martines will serve a prison term of two-three years. Until then, Martines will continue being held without bail in the Elmwood men's jail.
Martines' attorneys did not return a request for comment on his behalf. In previous comments, they objected to the violent characterization of their client and accused prosecutors of trying to skew the case in the media.
He was arrested in the earlymorning hours of July 9, 2021, after a local car dealer called Campbell police to report what he believed was a prowler looking into vehicles and a storage shed near his business on East Sunnyoaks Avenue. The call prompted two officers to stop a pickup truck in the area. Along with a third officer, they searched the truck, driven by Martines.
The criminal charges allege that Martines had meth with him as he drove around with illegal weapons, some of which were concealed, and the makings of a pipe bomb. Investigators stated shortly after the arrest that police found two rifles outfitted with silencers and advanced scopes and sights, body armor with rifle-resistant plating and pockets stuffed with loaded rifle magazines and throwing knives, and several high-capacity rifle magazines. A search of his home turned up a short-barreled rifle that also was seized.
A prosecutor's motion asking a judge to deny bail to Martines stated that journals found in the car and during a search of his home espoused Islamophobic and antisemitic stances and contained “plans to commit various shootings, robberies, burglaries, thefts, kidnappings, blackmail and false imprisonment” at “specific locations throughout the Bay Area and Northern California, hand-drawn maps depicting locations and escape routes … step-by-step plans to commit various crimes, and plans to use high-powered firearms, ammunition, and explosives.”
None of the journal materials prompted any criminal charges.