November 20, 2019: City of District Heights Mayor Convicted of Misconduct in Office

City of District Heights Mayor Convicted of Misconduct in Office

Acting State Prosecutor Kelly B. Madigan announced today that District Heights Mayor Eddie Martin was convicted of Misconduct in Office after a two day jury trial before Prince George’s County Circuit Court Judge Tiffany H. Anderson earlier this week.

In June 2019, Martin was charged via a Criminal Information with one count of misconduct in office. That Criminal Information alleged that on June 8, 2017, Martin signed a letter on City of District Heights’ letterhead authorizing the unlawful purchase of approximately fifty-thousand dollars worth of Class B and Class C fireworks from Wayne’s World Fireworks and represented that these fireworks were to be used on behalf of the City of District Heights. Martin, however, was aware that he was authorizing the purchase for an acquaintance for his own benefit.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 10, 2019.

Misconduct in office is a common law misdemeanor that carries any potential sentence that is not cruel and unusual.

This matter was jointly investigated by the Office of the State Prosecutor, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorneys’ Office for the District of Maryland.