 FILE--Brenda Martin arrives at her mother's home in Trenton, Ontario Friday May 9, 2008. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand
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NAPANEE, Ont. - An Ontario woman who made national headlines for her plight in a Mexican prison and who was returned to jail on Thursday night on a charge of violating her parole, is “crying out for help,” says a close friend.
Brenda Martin, 53, was arrested Thursday night for public intoxication, picked up in the lobby of an apartment building in Trenton, Ont.
Martin made national headlines last year when the Canadian government stepped in and flew her back to Canada after she spent two years in a Mexican jail, charged with taking part in a multi-million dollar Internet scam masterminded by her boss.
She was convicted by Mexican courts of fraud, but has always maintained her innocence and was placed on parole after arriving back in Canada in May, 2008, and serving a week in a Kitchener correctional facility.
Deb Tieleman, a childhood friend of Martin’s who became a vocal supporter for bringing Martin home from Mexico, said she was sorry to hear her friend was behind bars again but noted the nearly two years in a Mexican jail took a toll on Martin.
“I think Brenda is crying out for help,” she said. “I just don’t think Brenda is emotionally or mentally stable.” Tieleman said Martin stayed with her at her Kitchener-area home after she was returned home and it was obvious at that time that her friend was struggling. She said Martin was suffering from depression and, she believes, required psychiatric help.
Regardless, Tieleman said her friend also needs to recognize she is home, the Canadian government worked on her behalf and she should be thankful for her situation.
“I believe Brenda has to be very grateful that she is home,” she said.
“Brenda has to abide by the rules and, if she doesn’t, there’s going to be consequences.” This is the second time Martin has been charged with violating the conditions of her parole.
In December, the parole board imposed new conditions on Martin due to "difficulties recently encountered" by Martin.
"There have been recurring incidents of excessive alcohol consumption commencing in July, 2009, and you were heavily under the influence when you engaged in (deleted) behaviour by (deleted) on Sept. 16, 2009," a parole board document states.
Dan McTeague, a Liberal MP for the Pickering-Scarborough East riding, who lobbied the government to bring Martin home, said he is not aware if Martin has an addiction problem but noted she has “obviously been a mess since she returned.” “It is a very tragic tale and a tragic story of someone whose life has deteriorated,” McTeague said. “I’m not a doctor but there’s got to be long-term effects here. I have little doubt Brenda’s ordeal has taken a toll and has created a bad situation for her.” Martin was held Thursday at the Ontario Provincial Police detachment in Trenton, Ont., and later taken to the Quinte Regional Detention Centre in Napanee, Ont., to await a bail hearing.
The OPP contacted the National Parole Board and a warrant of apprehension was issued, suspending her parole.
Though unable to speak specifically about Martin’s case, Holly Knowles, regional communication manager for Correctional Services Canada Ontario, said an individual on parole who is taken back into custody has a number of possibilities in their future.
“Someone on full parole or day parole can be suspended for a number of reasons,” Knowles said. “The parole officer may feel there’s deteriorating behaviour or an escalation of risk so, at that point, an offender could be re-incarcerated.” At that point, Knowles said, a post-suspension interview would be completed with the offender to analyze what has happened. Once that is done, there is a 30-day timeline to prepare a report for the National Parole Board with a recommendation.
That recommendation, she said, would outline what type of release would be warranted or if the initial release be revoked.
Knowles could not shed any light on what may happen to Martin though she said new conditions could be imposed on an individual should new information come to light.
“For instance, if alcohol or substance abuse hasn’t proven to be an issue or we didn’t have information from the past that it was an issue but it then comes to light that it is an issue it could be recommended that a condition be imposed that the person needs to abstain from alcohol,” Knowles said.
In an interview with QMI Agency in December, Martin admitted she was wrestling with issues and demons in her life, but she believed she was getting the upper hand in the battle.
Martin also admitted to having a difficult summer - within a three-day period she had family problems, learned a friend in Mexico had been shot in a bar and ran into problems with her former landlord in Trenton.
"I had a bad stretch," said Martin, who was living in a Belleville apartment at the time. "I had a really bad time and I can only explain it by saying a lot of crap happened in three days and I just .... well, I lost it."
During the same interview Martin said she had attempted suicide late last summer, but stressed she was getting her life back on track and she was not drinking.
Employed at a Belleville restaurant, Martin said she was "very happy" with her new life and finally felt like she was "back on track."
"I'm a little concerned about this negative publicity because I don't want to lose my job," Martin said, adding the parole board has told her she cannot consume any alcohol for the next six months.
"I'm an adult and I've been through so much that I find it difficult to know these new restrictions are there, but it's fine and I'll be fine."
