Arizona State Parks Director Bryan Martyn was convicted last week of disorderly conduct, a Class 1 misdemeanor, for pushing a man after getting into an argument with him at a community festival in March. Martyn was ordered to pay an $813 fine by a Florence Municipal Court judge.
State Parks Board Chairman Walter Armer said of the incident, “My feeling is, we will keep moving forward. He has some great ideas and a heck of a lot of enthusiasm for state parks.” Armer believes the incident was minor and will not affect Martyn’s job,” according to the Yellow Sheet.
The conviction stems from an altercation between Martyn and Christopher White, who was also charged in the incident. The had a disagreement over Martyn’s role as the head of the Pinal Truth Squad, a non-profit, issue-advocacy group that was promoting the creation of a mine near Florence.
According to the Yellow Sheet, the mine, which is to be built by Curis Resources, “was a divisive issue in the most recent Florence mayoral elections, pitting the incumbent mayor and city council – who opposed the mine – against the candidate challenging the mayor and Martyn, who was on the Pinal County Board of Supervisors at the time.”
The Yellow Sheet reports that “Martyn requested a change of venue, arguing that his activities promoting the mine, combined with the city council’s authority to hire and fire the town attorney and judge, created a conflict for the court. Martyn’s request was denied, but White, who was also charged in the incident, was granted a change of venue to Casa Grande Municipal Court, where his case was dismissed. During the hearing, the municipal judge was unmoved by Martyn attorney Gary Husk’s argument that the case against his client was based on hearsay, but the judge did rule in favor of the town prosecutor when he raised similar objections. Martyn told the paper that he has paid the fine and probably won’t appeal the judgment.”