NEW BEDFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - A 24-year-old New Bedford man who allegedly hurled violent threats at a prosecutor and shouted, “I’m going to “expletive you up,” during a court hearing last week was arrested over the weekend, authorities announced Wednesday.
Jonathan Perez-Martinez was nabbed by Massachusetts State Police on Saturday and charged with witness intimidation and threats, according to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.
Martinez was sitting in New Bedford District Court and waiting for a case involving his brother to be heard on Feb. 12 when he suddenly yelled at a prosecutor and stated, “I’m going to (expletive) you up. Yeah, I’m talking to you…I’m going to (expletive) you up,” the district attorney’s office said.
After the alleged outburst, Martinez flipped off the prosecutor in the hallway outside the courtroom, court officers told investigators.
A warrant for Martinez’s arrest was obtained on Friday.
Troopers executing the warrant found Martinez hiding behind a bedroom door at a friend’s apartment on Myrtle Street.
“Threatening a prosecutor or any court official in open court is outrageous. On top of it, the defendant was waiting for the prosecutor outside when the court proceedings concluded. I will not tolerate this type of lawlessness and contempt for the judicial system. Our office will make every attempt to hold this defendant accountable,” District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III said in a statement.
Martinez is being held pending a dangerousness hearing on Feb. 25.
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