Jury Seated In Triple Murder Trial For Ex-MLB Player From Corona

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A jury was seated Thursday for the trial of an ex-minor league baseball player accused of using a baseball bat to fatally beat his father, uncle and a bystander inside a Corona home.

Brandon Willie Martin, 27, allegedly killed 64-year-old Michael Martin, his brother-in-law, 51-year-old Ricky Lee Anderson of Corona, and 62- year-old Barry Swanson of Riverside on the evening of Sept. 17, 2015.

Martin, who is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance allegation of taking multiple lives in the same crime, as well as auto theft, evading arrest, obstructing a peace officer and injuring a police canine. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty if he's convicted.

Following a week of jury selection, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz swore in a panel for the trial at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Opening statements are slated for Monday morning.

Jury selection for the defendant's trial first got underway in March, but proceedings stopped when the coronavirus public health emergencies were declared at the local and state levels. All jury trials were suspended until late June. The prosecution and defense last month announced they were prepared to move forward again.

According to evidence presented during a 2016 preliminary hearing, Martin had been experiencing unspecified psychiatric issues and was admitted to the county Department of Mental Health's emergency treatment facility on County Farm Road during the night of Sept. 15, 2015, for an evaluation. Martin's admission came after he'd allegedly made threats against his disabled father.

He was released from the facility two days later and allegedly went straight to the elder man's residence in the 1000 block of Winthrop Drive, arriving shortly after 6 p.m.

The victim was at the property with Anderson and Swanson, an ADT alarm company technician who was there for an installation consultation, stemming directly from concerns about safety in the face of the defendant's alleged threats, according to prosecutors.

Brandon Martin allegedly grabbed a baseball bat inside the house and went on a rampage, pummeling all three men. Michael Martin and Swanson died at the scene, but Anderson lingered in a coma for two days before dying from his injuries.

After the attack, the defendant allegedly stole Swanson's Ford Raptor pickup and hid out overnight.

According to Corona police Sgt. Brent Nelson, an off-duty officer spotted the truck in the area of Lincoln and Mountain avenues early the next morning and attempted to stop it, but Martin fled onto Derby Street, dodging several patrol vehicles whose officers tried to disable the Ford using intervention maneuvers.

The defendant bailed out of the truck at the intersection of Darby and Buena Vista Avenue, near Foothill Elementary School, and darted into a home, where a woman was taking a shower. Martin tried to escape by leaping from a second-story window but encountered a K-9 officer and his dog, culminating in a brief struggle before he was forcibly taken into custody, according to Nelson.

The defendant graduated from Corona's Santiago High School in 2011 and was selected in the first round of that year's Major League Baseball draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, the 38th overall selection. Martin played three seasons for the Rays' farm team and was let go on March 26, 2015.

He has no documented prior felony convictions.