Former Clovis cop punished for domestic violence
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A former Clovis police officer admitted Monday to domestic violence.
Kyle Pennington, 35, pleaded "no contest" to a misdemeanor count. In April, a jury also convicted him on two other misdemeanors for violating a restraining order.
Pennington had very little to say, but his defense attorney asked several times for his client to be treated just like any other defendant convicted of similar crimes. For many people, that would mean no time in jail. But Pennington's sentence was just one way he was treated differently.
Four times Kyle Pennington was arrested and jailed. Four times he bailed out within a few hours.
But after admitting Monday to domestic violence against an ex-girlfriend, he won't get out so quickly. Judge John Vogt said he was holding Pennington to a higher standard, in part because of his history of service.
"He was a peace officer," the judge said. "He was an officer in the United States Army. And he willfully violated court orders."
Prosecutors say Pennington thumbed his nose at the very legal system he pledged to uphold. His first arrest came last June in Sanger -- for the incident that led to his conviction Monday. Afterwards, he violated a restraining order by living with his victim. Text messages show he also tried to convince her not to testify against him.
After a jury couldn't decide in April whether he committed felony abuses, Pennington agreed to a plea deal. It prevents any felony convictions, but cost him both his careers -- as a law officer and an Army officer.
"He's going to have to resign as a result of this conviction and sentence," said his defense attorney Marshall Hodgkins.
After the hearing ended and our camera was off, deputies allowed Pennington to hug his family members who came to support him. Then, they took him to jail to serve a 30-day sentence.
He can't touch any guns, but he'll actually get released next week, leaving the victim hoping this time, he will obey a restraining order.
"I'm like always in fear that he's going to try to find me or try to come get me," said Desiree Martinez.
We normally wouldn't identify a victim of domestic violence, but Martinez told Action News she wanted other victims to know they have nothing to be ashamed of, so we actually interviewed her on camera after Monday's hearing. She's hoping other women can learn from her troubles.
The bruises have disappeared in the months since Pennington attacked Martinez last year. But some physical damage is permanent -- scarring, and life changing.
"He had split my eye," she said as a reporter asked about a scar above her left eye. "I have vision problems from that."
Martinez wanted to tell her story publicly so other women would hear it and avoid the pitfalls into which she fell. After Sanger police first arrested Pennington in June 2013, she stayed with him, living in his home, refusing to testify at an early court hearing, and lying to investigators about the abuse.
"I had to lie in order to think of a safety plan to get out because every time I did try to leave, he would track me down using a GPS tracker," she said.
Eventually, Martinez left town and tried to leave the abuse in her past. But even as Pennington admitted his crime in court Monday, she realized the wounds are still fresh as she reflected on a letter from her teenage daughter.
"As a mother, hearing that my kid is suffering so much from all of this, you know, I didn't realize until after I read that letter how much she's scared," she said.
Martinez says classes at the Marjaree Mason Center gave her the tools she needed to recognize red flags so she's never again in the same situation. She hopes others will hear her story and learn the same lessons.
"Some women, they don't see it until it's too late, and then when they're trying to get out sometimes it's not safe for them to get out at the time and they do what they can or sometimes women end up dead," she said.
Pennington is not allowed near the victim for 10 years. He'll serve three years of probation after the 30-day jail sentence. He'll also have to do 20 hours of community service and donate $500 to help victims of domestic violence.
