Jury acquits man of weapons charges

By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor

Saldana

HART — A jury rendered a not guilty verdict Thursday, April 4, in Oceana County’s 51st Circuit Court for a 37-year-old Rothbury man who faced three weapons charges.

Following a two-day trial, Hector Martin Saldana, Jr., of 3261 W. Winston Rd., was acquitted of charges of felon in possession of a firearm; felon in possession of ammunition; and felony firearms. Saldana was represented by defense attorney Terry Nolan. 

The prosecution called five witnesses to the stand, and the defense called two witnesses, said Oceana County Prosecutor Joseph Bizon.

Saldana has been lodged in the Oceana County Jail on a parole hold since June 23, 2023, according to Michigan Department of Corrections records. He was paroled Dec. 29, 2022. Saldana was sentenced in Oceana County, Jan. 27, 2020 to one to four years in prison for a conviction of failure to register as a sex offender stemming from a 2008 conviction in Muskegon County of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. 

Saldana was facing up to five years in prison for each of the felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition charges and up to two years for the felony firearms charge, said Bizon.

“Defendant is on parole, and (the parole department) received information that he was in violation of his parole. (Parole agents) went to his home and did a search of his home. Inside his bedroom, they found a safe, and he denied owning the safe. They had to break the safe open. Inside the safe, they found a gun and they found ammunition. They found his state-issued ID card that he had used the day before when checking in with the parole. They found a holster that was in his drawer with men’s pants that matched the gun.”

The prosecutor is disappointed with the verdict, however, he appreciates the critical role that juries provide. 

“It was a shocking decision — we very much believed we proved this case.

“The jury process is one of the cornerstones of our democratic process. It is incredibly important, and this is part of the process. Whether I agree with the decision or not, the jury is the final arbiter of facts in the case and is the sole determinant of what happened. They did not believe that we presented enough evidence.”

The charges cannot be re-filed against Saldana due to the double jeopardy rule.

OCP was unsuccessful in immediately reaching Mr. Nolan for comment.

______________________________________

Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. 

The easiest way is to sign up for an automatic monthly payment on Paypal. Click this link.

Alternative methods:

• We can send you an invoice each month, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454.

• We also accept Venmo payments.

We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.

If you would like to support MCP/OCP but do not wish to receive daily emails, please consider sending a contribution to any of the above methods or pay by Venmo (@masoncountypress).  We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.

_____

This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2024, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.

Please consider helping to fund local news. Mason County Press and Oceana County Press are available for free thanks to the generous support of our advertisers and individuals. Three ways to help us: Venmo: @MasonCountyPress; Paypal: MasonCountyPress@gmail.com; Mail a check to PO BOX 21, Scottville, MI 49454.

fb.com/stars