Man is sentenced for acid attack on judge at his home
A former soldier was sentenced on Wednesday to 14 years and three months in prison for throwing acid in the face of a Washington judge who had issued a restraining order against him.
Michael Martin, 36, was sentenced after pleading guilty last month to charges of first- and second-degree assault and malicious mischief in the attack on Judge Michael “Brett” Buckley of Thurston County, the Olympian and the Associated Press report.
Martin was accused of knocking on the door of Buckley’s home in Olympia in September 2012 and throwing acid into the judge’s face. Buckley washed off the liquid and was treated at the hospital for chemical burns.
Martin had found Buckley’s home by hiring a private investigator, police said.
Buckley said during the hearing that the acid burned him and his two dogs and caused about $30,000 in damage to his home, according to the account by the Olympian. After the attack, Buckley said, his wife was afraid and his adult daughters were reluctant to visit. The couple eventually sold the house where they had lived for 27 years.
Speaking for nearly an hour, Martin said his girlfriend had made false accusations against him and the restraining order should never have been issued, according to the Olympian. Martin said the unfair order led to his court-martial and dishonorable discharge.
Olympia police got a break in the case when an FBI agent investigating Martin for threatening to kill an Army lawyer told them that large quantities of sulfuric acid had been found at Martin’s home.
Detectives searched Martin’s phone and found he had created “to do” lists with tasks that included “Find out where 2 get battery acid” and “Find out who my judge was.”
Martin pleaded guilty to making threats on a federal official in March 2013. He was transferred to Thurston County custody after serving time in the federal case.
