A former pro baseball player was arrested Friday in a double murder case in Corona.
Brandon Martin was being sought after the bodies of two men were found inside a home in the 1000 block of Winthrop Drive Thursday night.
Martin once had a bright future as a pro baseball player. Now, the 22-year-old is suspected of murdering his 64-year-old father Michael Martin and 62-year-old Barry Swanson, a sub-contractor for ADT Security. Swanson’s employer said he was called to the home for security advice.
Police said Martin also critically injured his uncle.
“An off-duty Corona police officer on his way to work located a similar vehicle that was taken from the scene last night,” said Sgt. Paul Mercado with the Corona Police Department.
Martin led police on a short pursuit, which ended after Corona police attempted two PIT maneuvers to disable the truck. That’s when Martin ran for it and jumped over a fence.
Nearby Foothill Elementary School was temporary placed on lockdown. Police set up a perimeter and told neighbors to get inside.
“I was very shocked because my garage door was open, and they said he ran inside someone’s house, and I’m like oh my gosh!” said Terry Jackson of Corona.
Investigators tracked him to a home where inside a woman was showering. She was not injured. They said Martin tried to escape by jumping out a second-story window.
“He subsequently jumps out of a second-story window into the backyard where we had a police dog waiting for him,” said Mercado.
The K-9 did bite Martin as he was apprehended. The suspect was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Neighbors were in shock over the identity of the suspect. Martin is well-known in Corona sports circles. In 2011, the one-time baseball star was the 38th pick in the Major League draft out of Santiago High School.
“When he was 8 years old, he was better than the 12, 13, 14-year-old kids. He was a natural,” said Tony Estes of Corona.
“When I actually found out who the kid was, I’m just like oh my God, this kid got signed to the minors,” said Jackson. “He was like one of the top sports kids at Santiago. I don’t know what the personal problems were that could have caused all this, but very, very shocking.”
