The Los Angeles Daily Journal reported on the acquittal of William Martinez, a MacArthur Park physician assistant and founder of the Samaritana Clinic, at his elder abuse retrial. Mr. Martinez was represented by Louis J. Shapiro, together with Mark S. Hardiman of Leech Tishman Nelson Hardiman and Joseph A. Gutierrez of the Law Offices of Joseph A. Gutierrez. The verdict ended an eight-year prosecution.
The case arose from the transfer of an elderly patient with end-stage dementia to an unlicensed board-and-care facility in Long Beach after her convalescent home refused to keep her. Mr. Martinez told investigators he arranged the move on the recommendation of the medical director of her health plan, who had said he would take over her care.
At the first trial, on felony kidnapping and elder abuse charges, the jury hung with a majority favoring acquittal on both counts. A different prosecutor took over and dropped the kidnapping charge before the retrial. Over four weeks, the defense built on lessons from the first trial, including interviews with jurors, and called character witnesses who described the free care Mr. Martinez gives patients. Mr. Shapiro told the Daily Journal that jurors cried when the verdict was read and hugged Mr. Martinez outside the courtroom, calling it “a very emotional day.”
People v. Martinez, LACBA476058-03 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Dec. 9, 2019). Article by Douglas Saunders, Los Angeles Daily Journal, page 2, Friday, September 25, 2026.