35-plus-year sentence in shooting of Maplewood policeman

Saying that Joshua M. Martin had proven himself "capable of merciless acts of violence against innocent people," a Ramsey County district judge sentenced Martin to 35 years and nine months in prison for the May 1 ambush slaying of Maplewood Police Sgt. Joe Bergeron.

"Mr. Martin, you have proved yourself unworthy of the opportunities granted to you [by other courts] to change your life," said District Judge Salvador Rosas. "The best thing I can do for the community is to lock you away for as long as I can."

Martin, 21, of St. Paul, pleaded guilty July 1 to intentional second-degree murder and kidnapping. He is the sole surviving defendant in the Bergeron killing; cohort Jason J. Jones, 21, was shot and killed during a scuffle on the day of the slaying by St. Paul Police officer David Longbehn. He attended the sentencing Friday and then left without commenting.

The eighth-floor courtroom was packed with uniformed and plainclothes officers from Maplewood, St. Paul and other jurisdictions, as well as Bergeron's family and friends.

Bergeron's nephew, Chaska police officer Michael Duzan spoke on behalf of the family: "I'm proud to tell you I'm a police officer like my uncle," he said. "In fact, he's the reason I decided to dedicate my life to serving my community."

Duzan then described a remarkable and tragic coincidence involving his uncle's murder. He said he remembers being at his own church, listening to speakers from Teen Challenge, an outreach ministry for troubled youth. "I strongly support people who want to turn their lives around," he said. "So I wrote a check.

"Fast forward to May 1, 2010," he continued. "I was working my shift when I heard disturbing radio traffic ... and learned my hero had been murdered."

Duzan said he learned later that the young man from Teen Challenge was Martin. "This is a man I personally tried to help ... and he repaid me by murdering my uncle," Duzan said.

Duzan also spoke briefly outside the courthouse after the hearing, saying, "Had they responded differently that day, Mr. Jones and Mr. Martin would have been the beneficiaries of the same easy smile and chuckle that everybody else was."

'I ask God to forgive me'

At his plea hearing earlier this summer, Martin described how he and Jones carjacked a man looking to buy marijuana, but fled on foot when the man tricked them and escaped to get help. The pair eventually ran into Bergeron, 49, who was in his squad car by the Bruce Vento Trail about 6:45 a.m., responding to a report of a carjacking.

Martin told prosecutors at the plea hearing that he knew Jones would resort to deadly violence because both men had criminal records and did not want to get caught for the carjacking.

"I positioned myself to distract the officer so Jones could shoot him," Martin said. As Bergeron sat in the squad, still buckled in, Jones approached. "He came by the door and reached his arm in the door and shot him in the head," Martin said.

On Friday, Martin sat quietly, flanked by his attorneys, Mark Todd and Tom Donohue, until the judge told him, "Mr. Martin, step up before the bench, please."

When it was his turn to speak, Martin said, "There ain't nothing I can say to bring back the cop. I ask God to forgive me. I know he forgives me.

"I ask the family to forgive me," he mumbled almost inaudibly.

Equally culpable

Fellow Maplewood police officer Tim Flor was the first to speak at Friday's hearing. He called Bergeron "my best friend."

Said Flor, "Josh brutally stole millions of dreams from the Bergeron family and replaced them with unimaginable horrors."

Flor said he is "challenged daily with grief and how to move on. ... Now I have to listen to my kids -- 'Please don't go to work, daddy. I don't want the bad guy to shoot you, too.'"

Despite the fact that Martin was not the shooter, he is equally culpable under the law and could have been charged with first-degree murder, which would have carried a life sentence.

Under the plea agreement, Martin will serve a minimum of 23 years in prison before he is eligible for supervised release. He was given credit for the 119 days he has spent in custody and ordered to pay restitution of more than $21,000 for Bergeron's funeral and death benefits. A hearing will be held later to determine whether he is financially liable for Bergeron's damaged squad car.

Outside the courthouse, County Attorney Susan Gaertner said the plea was reached to reflect the "relative culpability" of the defendant and to spare Bergeron's family from sitting through a trial.

Maplewood Police Chief Dave Thomalla was asked to describe Bergeron: "He was the best guy in the world," he said. "He could take a bad situation and make it good.

"No sentence is enough," Thomalla said. "No sentence is going to change what happened. No sentence is going to give his wife her husband back or give the girls their father back."

Pat Pheifer • 612-741-4992