VOL. 126, ISSUE 26
18
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Ramona man pleads guilty to murder-for-hire plot
Inside August 16, 2012
99
Ramona Sentinel
17
By NEAL PUTNAM
Back-to-School Pullout Section......pages 17-26 DRE# 00841062
A former Internal Revenue Service agent and tax preparer pleaded guilty Aug. 10 to orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot in which he asked a would-be hit man to kill three witnesses who were his former clients. No attempts were made on the lives of three people as Ramona
resident Steven Martinez, 51, was arrested in February along with his limo driver, Norman Russell Thellmann, 64, after Thellman notified the FBI. Martinez faces a maximum sentence of 98 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. Sentencing was set for Nov. 30 by U.S. District Court Judge William Hayes. Martinez remains
in the Metropolitan Correctional Center without bail. Martinez also pleaded guilty to soliciting a violent crime, money laundering, witness tampering, procuring false tax returns, Social Security fraud, aggravated identity theft, and making false tax returns from his business. Martinez showed photos of one woman and her La Jolla condo-
minium entrances and exits and recommended the hit man use different firearms for each homicide and suggested he use a silencer. Those witnesses had been expected to testify in Martinez’s trial for mail fraud, and he was free on bond when he started the murderfor-hire plot. See MARTINEZ on page14
Mom-to-be blogs weekly about quadruplet pregnancy
Good news, bad news In a classic good news, bad news report, one of Ramona’s boutique wineries reports it’s temporarily sold out of its award-winning wines but plans to reopen its tasting patio soon.......15
Index
425-A 10th Street Ramona, CA 92065
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID Ramona CA Permit No 136
Our Town.....................7 Opinion..................8 Worship Directory......10 Business News...........15 Sports...................29 Classifieds.................30 Featured Businesses...42
By JESSICA KING Aimee and Justin Ahlgren are about to add four new residents to Ramona in the form of one very extra large-sized bundle of joy. The Ahlgrens, who themselves were each raised in Ramona, are expecting quadruplets — a son named Jackson Bruce and three daughters: Kennedy Lynn, Ryan Charlotte, and Reese Marie. It’s been a journey of tears and cheers documented by the 26-year-old mom-tobe in a public blog. Aimee launched “Ahlgren Adventures in Quad Land” on May 1, nearly three months after conception. Her due date is Nov. 8, but she will not carry the quadruplets to full term because multiples deliver early. “I enjoy doing it, I look forward to it every week,” Aimee said of her blogging, noting she started it because, when the couple turned to the Internet to learn about having and raising quadruplets, information was scarce. That is except for in the blogging world, where Aimee said she found other blogs by quadruplet moms and an invaluable support system. The Ahlgrens didn’t set out to have four babies at once, but their pregnancy was definitely planned. The couple, married in 2009, faced infertility issues and turned to doctors after exhausting home remedies of acupuncture, weight loss, and vitamins. On their second try of intrauterine in-
semination with fertility drugs, a nurse called the Ahlgrens with the news they’d been waiting for for years. “I was crying so hard I’m sure (the nurse) couldn’t understand a word that I was saying, and I hardly remember what she said after she told me that it was positive except for one thing,” blogged Aimee. “She had said that I am very pregnant, meaning my pregnancy hormone levels were higher than most and that I could have more than one in there.” Nervous and excited, the couple went to their first ultrasound appointment and learned they were expecting not four, but five babies originally. Sadly, one miscarried early in the pregnancy. From there, the Ahlgrens had one primary goal — keep their babies growing inside of Aimee for at least 24 weeks, which is the point at which doctors say they would have a viable chance at survival. Week 24 has come and gone and as of press time, Aimee is nearing the 28-week mark. Aimee said if she makes it to 28 weeks, the new goal will be to deliver the quadruplets any time after the 30-week mark. The typical single-birth uncomplicated pregnancy lasts 38 weeks. Since week 23, Aimee has been confined to bed rest at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns in San Diego. It’s there the couple recently celebrated Justin’s 28th birthday with handSee QUAD BLOG on page16
Sentinel photo/Jessica King
Quadruplets mom-to-be Aimee Ahlgren compares her growing belly at 27-weeks pregnant to a torpedo.