LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A Las Vegas man was sentenced up to life in prison for the death of a 2-month old baby and events that unfolded after.
Clarence Edward Martin was sentenced Tuesday. He faced charges of open murder, arson, first-degree torture of an animal, battery on a protected person and failure to stop at an accident.
911 received a call from Martin’s fiancé at 3:41 a.m. on Oct. 24, 2020. She said he threw their 2-month-old baby off the second-story of an apartment building.
Officers responded to the complex located near St. Rose Parkway and Eastern Avenue. When officers arrived, they found his fiancé and a neighbor giving CPR.
Officers started to render aid to the baby. When asked why Martin would do this, she didn’t have an idea.
Martin got in his fiancé‘s Mercedes Benz and fled. He got into three hit-and-runs before stopping at the former McCarran International Airport, now named after Harry Reid.
Back at the scene, neighbors of Martin’s apartment started to report smell of a fire and smoke.
Fire crews arrived and knocked down a fire Martin started before fleeing. Firefighters said a poodle died from heat and smoke inhalation. The fire started in the living room and hallway.
Medical arrived and transported the baby to St. Rose hospital. At 4:55 a.m., the baby died.
Martin was taken into custody by airport security and Las Vegas police at LAS. An employee reported a security breach after he tried to get inside a baggage conveyor.
Martin was able to get inside a break room and get into the uniform of a TSA agent. He was arrested outside the main building.
Tuesday, Martin was sentenced to a minimum of nearly 50 years and a maximum of life.
LVMPD homicide detectives learned from his fiancé that he suffered from mental health issues. She said he hadn’t slept or eaten for the past three days.
When she and the baby were sleeping, Martin kicked them both off the bed. She took the baby into the living room to sleep but he got up and took the baby from her arms.
He left the apartment and came back inside without the baby.
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