Martson gets 30 years to life

OROFINO — Andrew J. Martson briefly addressed family members as he was led out of a Clearwater County Courtroom moments after being sentenced to 30 years to life in prison Tuesday.

“We love you,” one said.

“I love you too,” he replied, his hands and feet shackled.

Ronnie L. Cheney and his family never had the chance for one last tender exchange. They weren’t able to say “I love you.” There was no “goodbye.”

Martson, 44 and high on meth, brutally killed Cheney last January. The two — who were friends, according to Martson — were shooting meth at Martson’s Ahsahka trailer. He told police he heard voices that told him Cheney needed to die. Martson, using two knives, obeyed.

“Mr. Martson stabbed Mr. Cheney many times through the chest, through the heart, and he cut his throat,” said Clearwater County Prosecutor Clayne Tyler. “He cut his throat so deep that he was nearly decapitated.”

Tyler recited a lengthy list of Martson’s past convictions, many of them for violent assaults, and noted it’s a wonder this is the first time he has been charged with a capital crime. When Martson attacked and killed Cheney, he was still on parole for a felony domestic battery conviction in 2016.

“His wife was beaten. Her skull was fractured, and her throat was cut. It was cut on both sides. It was cut so badly that when she took a drink of water, the water came out the side of her throat,” Tyler said, referring to the crime that occurred in Latah County.

Tyler argued that society needs to be protected from Martson and that District Court Judge Adam H. Green should sentence him to life in prison.

In August, Martson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with the understanding that he would, at minimum, be given a fixed term of 20 years. But Tyler reserved the right to advocate for more time in prison.

“If you go by the theory that a person’s behavior, his past behavior, is the best prediction of his future behavior,” Tyler said, “what we have sitting here in front of us today is a very dangerous man, a man that frightens the state and that should frighten anybody that’s in a relationship with him, and it is just by the grace of God that this is his first murder charge.”

Defense attorney William Fitzgerald countered that the circumstances around the murder are murky. He noted that in a presentence investigation, Martson alleged Cheney had a knife and said they both were in the throes of a meth high.

“None of us were there. None of us know the exact circumstances,” Fitzgerald said. “I mean, whether there’s an argument, whether they are both individuals that are hearing voices, whether they’re both under the influence of methamphetamine to where this is just a jumble. We don’t know.”

Fitzgerald urged Green to hand down a fixed 20-year sentence with an indeterminate time thereafter. Doing so, he said, leaves Martson with a chance at reform. After 20 years, Martson will be 64 and, with rehabilitation programs available in prison, may well be a changed man, he said.

“The parole board can make a determination 20 years from now whether or not Mr. Martson has mental health issues or drug issues that prevent him from coming out and being released. If at that point in time he still has these problems that you should say he’s a danger to society, those are all things that the parole board will take into consideration.”

Martson then briefly addressed the court.

“I’d like to apologize for Ronnie Cheney and his family. I known him for a long time. That’s all I got to say.”

Green was not moved by Martson’s apology nor by his attorney’s advocacy. Given his long criminal history and the fact that he was on parole for a violent attack at the time of the murder, Green said he has no confidence in Martson’s ability to reform.

“Your counsel argues for a fixed sentence of 20 years, that you’d be 64 years of age when you’d be eligible for parole at that time. But Mr. Cheney doesn’t have the opportunity to be 64 years of age, and at 64 years of age, you can still have somewhat of a life after that,” he said. “That doesn’t seem appropriate to me. Society can’t tolerate this, Mr. Martson, in any way, shape or form — there’s no mitigating what you did here.”

Martson was also given a $5,000 civil penalty and given credit for the nearly 10 months he has been in jail.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273.