By Larry Judkins
Glenn County Observer
Back in September, The Observer reported that a Hamilton City man was arrested for allegedly kidnapping a teenager.
The incident was reported at about 1:30 a.m. on Monday, September 23, 2024, when the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office was told of a missing 14-year-old child from Hamilton City.
Deputies contacted the parents, who said the child had possibly gone fishing with a man they did not know much about.
A search was conducted utilizing deputies and assistance from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office and the Butte County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue.
The child and the man were found on the Sacramento River, south of Big Chico Creek.
According to the Glenn County Sheriff’s log, the child was reunited with “their” [sic] parents and the 64-year-old man, Eleazar Gamboa Martinez, of 150 Shasta Avenue, Hamilton City, was taken into custody and booked into the Glenn County Jail.
Martinez was charged with alleged kidnapping (a felony), child stealing (a felony), and possession of a controlled substance (a misdemeanor).
His bail was set at $140,000.
Now that you are all reacquainted with the case, here is what has happened since:
In court, the only charge that Martinez faced was abduction of a child (a misdemeanor).
On November 6, he pled guilty. On that same date, he received a sentence of “time served” in the Glenn County Jail, and one year of unsupervised probation.
A community service review to be heard by Judge Donald Cole Byrd is scheduled for 10 a.m. on February 18, 2025.
The Glenn County Observer 