Fort Meade Marine's Death Sends Crofton Speeder To Prison

GAMBRILLS, MD — A Crofton driver who reportedly was going 30 miles over the speed limit when his car fatally struck a Marine stationed at Fort Meade has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of failure to remain at the scene of an accident resulting in death. The victim — Lance Corporal James Ray Walden III, 21, of Peoria Heights, Illinois — died Feb. 24, 2017, when his Yamaha motorcycle was struck by Martin Martinez-Ballinas, 29, of Crofton.

Martinez-Ballinas was originally indicted in April on two felony counts, including automobile manslaughter and related charges by an Anne Arundel County grand jury in Walden's death. Martinez-Ballinas was ordered then to remain in custody without bail at the Anne Arundel County Detention Center after a court denied his motion seeking his release. Prosecutors argued that Martinez-Ballinas should remain in custody because he did not provide credentials establishing his lawful presence in the United States, his foreign passport, and his failure-to-appear for an earlier unrelated charge.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Laura S. Kiessling sentenced Martinez-Ballinas to six years in prison and five years of supervised probation upon release.

"Lance Corporal James Walden was prepared to sacrifice his life in service to our country," said Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Wes Adams in a statement. "Instead, because he could not follow the simple rules of traffic, Mr. Martinez-Ballinas robbed LCpl Walden of the opportunity to continue defending our rights and freedoms. Although no sentence could quell the loss of such a honorable young man and Marine, I am grateful to Judge Kiessling for ensuring Mr. Martinez-Ballinas is forced to reckon with the consequences of his reckless decision."

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The crash happened on Patuxent Road near Conway Road in Gambrills. Witnesses told Anne Arundel County Police that a 2007 BMW 335i driven by Martinez-Ballinas was southbound on Patuxent Road when the driver lost control of the vehicle, which crossed the double yellow line into the northbound lane and struck Walden's northbound motorcycle. Walden was thrown about 36 feet from the bike and suffered fatal injuries. A front seat passenger in the BMW — Kevin Rolando Perez Velasquez, 22, of the 1600 block of Heather Place in Crofton — suffered minor injuries.

As police officers arrived, Martinez-Ballinas fled the scene. Police caught him about a quarter of a mile south of the crash scene hiding in a quarry between large stacks of concrete pallets.

Court documents claimed the collision was caused by Martinez-Ballinas driving in a grossly negligent manner. While driving southbound on Patuxent Road, the driver exceeded the 35 mph speed limit by about 30 mph. Walden was pronounced dead by Anne Arundel County paramedics at the crash scene.

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