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At 1 pm today, Victor Martinez walked into a US Immigration and Customs courtroom with hopes of leaving a free man. Sadly, things did not go how he, and most of the bodybuilding community had hoped. While his girlfriend, his close friend and training partner, IFBB Pro Jon De La Rosa observed, the lawyers conferred. Victor’s lawyer actually teleconferenced in, as he wasn’t able to be in New York for the case. After all was said and done, the judge had decided to side with the government, not granting Victor bail. His next hearing will be on January 6th, 2012.
By January 6th, Victor will have been in I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) holding for almost exactly 90 days. If you read the last column I wrote (
http://www.rxmuscle.com/articles/muscle-gossip/4467-muscle-gossip-37-what-really-happened-to-victor-martinez.html), you’ll remember that the 90-day mark is significant in that it is the cut-off time for the US government to hold someone in an immigration matter. At the 90-day mark, they need to either release him, charge him with a crime, or deport him.
Best case scenario would be Victor spending 3 extremely depressing months in a federal holding cell. These are usually about 6 by 8 feet in size, with steel or brick walls and one solid or barred door; not a fun place to spend three months. Victor would then get out with the ability to renew his green card. At that point, he wouldn’t be able to get ready for the Arnold, on March 2nd-4th. This would give him around 8 weeks to not only diet, but put back on a the muscle he will surely lose while locked up. If this scenario comes to pass (and I hope it does), then we could certainly see Victor back on the Olympia stage in September.
Second best case scenario would be that on January 6th, Victor is deported back to the Dominican Republic. There he may live very well on substantially less money than he is currently making. As I said in the last column, there are 9 shows outside of the US in the 2012 season, and only 1 of those (The Sheru Classic), he would not be the favorite for.
The worst possible scenario is that the government isn’t deporting him now because they are investigating or building a federal case against Victor. I have no details on this, and wouldn’t speculate on what those charges could be. I have, however, been told by a lawyer that specializes in immigration law in New York City, that this is a possible scenario. With the government’s federal convection rate at almost 95%, this is decidedly the worst case scenario. Obviously, if this were to occur, Victor would not only serve a sentence in a federal prison, but when the sentence is completed, he would then be deported.
Over the course of the day today, I have received many emails, text messages, tweets (#freevictormartinez), and calls from friends and fans worried about Victor. It’s been overwhelming the amount of people who have reached out to me, in hopes of receiving good news. I’m truly sorry the news for Victor wasn’t better, but there is absolutely no doubt that people are worried about him. Victor is no angel, he’s made mistakes in life, but the amount and level of concern and love he’s inspired in people he’s met, befriended, and competed with tells the story of a man worth rooting for.
Free Victor Martinez.
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*Edited by the wonderful Darielle Gaines.
