Jury finds Alexandra Martinez guilty in neighbour dispute turned violent

A Kingaroy jury has found a former child protection officer and high school teacher guilty of assaulting her neighbours during a violent altercation, leaving one of the victims in tears as the verdicts were announced.

Alexandra Martinez at Kingaroy District Court.

A Kingaroy jury has found a Brisbane woman guilty of multiple assault charges after a violent altercation with her neighbours on a rural property which left one neighbour injured and another fearing for her life.

Alexandra Martinez was found guilty on Thursday at Kingaroy District Court after a three-day trial of three counts of common assault, one count of assault causing bodily harm while armed, and one count of deprivation of liberty.

The incident occurred in May 2018 on a rural property in Taromeo, north of Blackbutt, when one of Martinez’s three labradors jumped the fence into a neighbouring property.

The jury heard this is when the first victim, Erica Smith, was on her property with her two small dogs, a staffy and fox terrier.

Ms Smith testified the labrador grabbed the fox terrier and jumped back over the fence where the dogs were “throwing it around like a sack of potatoes.”

She said Martinez’s dogs often jumped into her property and that one had previously killed her Chihuahua.

Ms Smith told the jury she called out to Martinez who couldn’t be seen, before she jumped over the fence and was then “tackled” from behind by Martinez.

“She knocked me down to the ground, pinned me,” Ms Smith said.

“She was telling me she was going to kill me and wasn’t going to let me leave her property.”

Alexandra Martinez at Kingaroy District Court.

During the incident, she said the pair were rolling around on the ground while Martinez dogs were “nipping” at Ms Smith.

I still have nightmares,” Ms Smith said.

“I thought I was going to die that day.”

The court heard Margaret Maguire, a neighbour in her 70s, who heard the commotion, arrived to help, which allowed Ms Smith to escape back over the fence and call the police.

Ms Maguire testified she was more concerned about Ms Smith’s dogs and tried to rescue them when Martinez allegedly confronted her, shouting at her, the court was told.

“I’m gonna kill you, you’re going to die, you’re evil,” she recounted Martinez saying.

At one point, Martinez struck Ms Maguire across the face with a large stick.

“She walloped me one … I got busted open,” she said.

A photo presented to the court showed blood dripping down Ms Maguire’s face, neck, and chest.

Ms Maguire was animated at times, often raising her voice and standing up to demonstrate her evidence, with the court needing to break during her testimony.

Ms Maguire told the jury Ms Martinez grabbed and twisted her breast, not letting it go while she pulled Ms Martinez hair to stop her.

She said during the ordeal, she attempted to climb the fence but was unable to and that Ms Martinez was preventing her from leaving the property.

“That broke me because I couldn’t even save myself,” she said, appearing emotional.

Ms Smith, who witnessed the attack on Ms Maguire after she was back on her own property, said she was too afraid to intervene after her own ordeal.

“I was too scared and gutless to help her,” she said, crying.

Alexandra Martinez at Kingaroy District Court.

During cross-examination of the two victims, barrister Axel Beard suggested that Ms Smith entered the property with the intent to assault Martinez, and that Ms Maguire approached with a stick, intending to do the same. Both women denied these allegations.

The jury was shown police body-worn camera footage capturing the initial interaction with Martinez, during which she claimed the pair had attacked her and taken her mobile phone when she tried to record the altercation.

The jury heard Martinez admitted striking Ms Maguire with the stick in self-defence after Ms Maguire was acting “disorderly”.

“If someone hits you with a stick, you can hit them back,” Mr Beard said.

In her statement to police, Martinez said that after defending herself from Ms Maguire, she prevented Ms Maguire from leaving the property until police arrived.

Mr Beard also highlighted inconsistencies between the alleged victims’ statements to police and their court testimony, arguing that neither woman was credible.

The jury, composed of seven men and five women, began their deliberations on Wednesday afternoon and reached a guilty verdict on all five counts by Thursday morning.

Ms Maguire, who was supported by her daughter in court, broke down in tears as the verdicts were announced.

“Thank you, Lord,” she said while hugging her daughter, who was also emotional.

The court heard Martinez had previously worked as a child protection officer and juvenile justice officer for the Department of Family Services, as well as teaching Spanish at Ferny Grove State High School.

She also provided vital support for unaccompanied minors from Afghanistan, assisting them in finding accommodation and accessing services.

Judge Terry Gardiner said the offences occurred in “unusual circumstances” and were “out of character” for Martinez.

He sentenced her to 120 hours of community service and ordered her to pay $500 in compensation to Ms Maguire.

Considering her work history, age, and need to travel for family reasons, Judge Gardiner decided against recording a conviction.

Originally published as Jury finds Alexandra Martinez guilty in neighbour dispute turned violent