Public Defender employee named top investigator

Puebloan named top investigatorState honors Pueblo investigator An employee of the Pueblo office of the public defender has been honored as the top investigator within the statewide system.

Kristi Martinez received the Colorado State Public Defender Investigator of the Year Award last weekend at the annual conference for the public defender system in Keystone.

“I'm honored and I'm humbled, because the people I work with are amazing,” Martinez said.

Martinez is one of about 80 investigators within the statewide system. She has been employed by the Pueblo office for seven years. During that time, she has investigated cases on behalf of clients accused of a wide variety of crimes, including homicide.

Other public defender offices throughout the state have relied on the bilingual Martinez when representing monolingual clients who speak only Spanish.

The public defender's office is appointed to represent people accused of crimes who cannot afford to hire a lawyer.

The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Pueblo, Colorado U.S.A