Court upholds conviction in teen's execution-style slaying
The state Supreme Court today again upheld the conviction of a Duluth man serving a life sentence for acting as the ringleader in the kidnapping, beating and killing of a Two Harbors teenager after a minor traffic accident in 1996.
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The state Supreme Court today again upheld the conviction of a Duluth man serving a life sentence for acting as the ringleader in the kidnapping, beating and killing of a Two Harbors teenager after a minor traffic accident in 1996.
John Steven Martin argued that he received ineffective defense in his trial because his lawyer failed to object to crime scene video and photos. He argued the district court violated his right to be present when it received the jury's request to meet with the victim's family. He also argued prosecutorial misconduct.
The court ruled against all of Martin's claims because he failed to raise them on his first appeal. The court rejected his appeal on other issues in 2000.
Martin was sentenced in 1999 to life in prison after he was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors said Martin was the triggerman and leader of a group of thugs who abducted Paul Antonich after his car rear-ended theirs at a stoplight in Duluth. Prosecutors said the group stomped and beat Antonich, then drove him to a wild-rice bog 34 miles outside the city, where he was shot four times execution-style.
Martin said he drank 18 beers and a half-pint of whiskey that night and didn't remember what happened.
Martin's trial was held in Dakota County because of publicity in the Duluth area.
Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747
