Michael Feliciano Martinez received prison time and probation after pleading guilty to two felony counts.
PHOENIX, AZ — A former Phoenix police officer was sentenced Friday to 1 1/2 years in prison and 10 years of probation for sexually abusing two women while he was on duty in 2022.
Michael Feliciano Martinez, 34, pleaded guilty in February to two felony counts of sexual abuse. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Aryeh Schwartz imposed the sentence as part of a plea agreement and gave Martinez credit for 67 days already served. The case drew attention because prosecutors said Martinez used his uniform, badge and police authority to detain women and hide the abuse.
Martinez appeared for sentencing in a black-and-white jail uniform and shackles. Schwartz called the crimes “particularly egregious” before ordering the prison term. Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Will Heydenreich said Martinez “abused his power” and used his uniform as cover for his conduct. Martinez apologized in court and asked for forgiveness from the women, his former colleagues and the community. “I am truly sorry,” Martinez said. “I need help, and I am not making any excuses.”
The two sexual abuse counts involved women Martinez encountered while working in the Phoenix Police Department’s Cactus Park precinct in March 2022. One woman told investigators Martinez stopped her at a hotel on March 31, 2022, took pills from her pocket and touched her genital area while acting as though he was conducting an official search. He was placed on desk duty during that investigation. Another woman said Martinez sexually abused her while searching her and her belongings in a laundromat parking lot on March 23 or March 24, 2022. That woman did not report the allegation until after she saw news coverage of Martinez’s later arrest in a prostitution case.
Martinez worked for Phoenix police from 2019 until 2022. He resigned in October 2022 after he was arrested on suspicion of solicitation of prostitution. Investigators said that case connected him to Jennifer Beede, a 39-year-old sex worker who was killed in September 2022. Martinez was among the last people known to have seen Beede before her body was found, but authorities have not named him as a suspect in her death and he has not been charged in that homicide.
Police records said Martinez contacted Beede on Sept. 16, 2022, using his personal phone while he was on duty at the South Mountain precinct. Investigators said he asked for sexual favors and later met her at a Hampton Inn near 44th Street and the Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway after his shift ended. Less than 24 hours later, Beede was found dead inside a suitcase on a trail near Ashler Hills Drive and 40th Street. She had been shot in the head.
Two other people, Crystal Hulsey and Jose Jaquez, face murder charges in Beede’s death. Investigators said Hulsey acted as Beede’s handler and communicated with Martinez about payment for Beede’s services. Court and police records said Hulsey and Jaquez were seen on security video pulling a heavy suitcase down a hotel hallway after Martinez’s encounter with Beede. Authorities said the suitcase matched the size, color and maker of the one in which Beede’s body was later found.
Hulsey and Jaquez also were linked to a separate robbery in Las Vegas, where police said officers tried to stop them after they took another victim’s car. During that case, authorities recovered a silver handgun that records said matched a casing found at Beede’s homicide scene. The pair were later arrested after a pursuit that ended in a crash in Payson. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against them if they are convicted. Their murder case remains pending, with trial expected this summer.
During Martinez’s sentencing, relatives asked the court for leniency and described childhood trauma they said shaped his behavior. Martinez told the court he struggled with depression, anxiety and years of destructive conduct. His defense attorney raised concern about possible sex offender registration, saying Martinez could be targeted because he is a former police officer. Prosecutors said the focus should remain on the women he encountered while wearing a badge and carrying police authority.
Heydenreich said prosecutors remain concerned there may be other victims who did not report Martinez to authorities. After the hearing, Martinez was ordered to serve his prison sentence in the Arizona Department of Corrections. When released, he will begin 10 years of supervised probation. A later court decision could determine whether he must register as a sex offender.
Martinez remained in custody after sentencing. The next major court action tied to the broader facts around the case is expected in the pending murder prosecution of Hulsey and Jaquez, which is scheduled for trial this summer.
Author note: Last updated May 2, 2026.