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SALT LAKE CITY — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent charged for a second time for allegedly using excessive force with a man in custody has pleaded not guilty.
Jon Martinson Jr. faces one count of deprivation rights under color of law, basically alleging he misused his authority. Prosecutors say he without provocation slammed Fabian Maldonado-Pineda to the floor while he was handcuffed and shackled.
Judge Dee Benson dismissed the same charge against Martinson in July.
Prosecutors claimed in the first case that Martinson violated Maldonado-Pineda's right against unreasonable search and seizure. But defense attorneys successfully argued that Martinson should have been charged under the right against cruel and unusual punishment. Prosecutors filed the case again using that argument.
Maldonado-Pineda was being held in an ICE detention center in West Valley City when the July 2013 incident occurred. He was disruptive in his cell and twice resisted Martison's attempt to move him to an unoccupied cell, prompting the agent to take him down, according to the agent's attorneys.
Maldonado-Pineda was charged with illegal re-entry to the U.S. after having been deported.
