Michael Feliciano Martinez pleaded guilty to two felony sexual abuse counts tied to police searches in 2022.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — A former Phoenix police officer was sentenced Friday to 1.5 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 centered on two women Martinez encountered while assigned to the Phoenix Police Department’s Cactus Park precinct.
Martinez appeared for sentencing in a black-and-white jail uniform and shackles as Schwartz called the crimes “particularly egregious” before ordering the prison term. Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Will Heydenreich said Martinez used his position to control the encounters and avoid quick detection. “He abused his power,” Heydenreich said in court, saying Martinez used his uniform as cover for his conduct. Martinez apologized to the women, his former colleagues and the city he once served. “I am truly sorry,” Martinez said. “I need help, and I am not making any excuses.”
The charges involved separate incidents in March 2022. In one case, a 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 police search. Police reports said Martinez was placed on desk duty during that investigation. In the second case, 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 later saw news coverage about Martinez’s arrest in another 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. That arrest later drew wider attention because investigators connected him to Jennifer Beede, a 39-year-old woman whose body was found inside a suitcase in north Phoenix in September 2022. Authorities have said Martinez was among the last people known to have seen Beede before she was killed. Martinez has not been named as a suspect and has not been charged in her death.
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. Prosecutors said two other people, Crystal Hulsey and Jose Jaquez, face murder charges in Beede’s death.
During Martinez’s sentencing, relatives asked Schwartz for leniency and described childhood trauma they said shaped his behavior. Martinez told the court he had struggled with depression, anxiety and destructive conduct for years. His defense attorney raised concern about possible sex offender registration and said 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 also said prosecutors remain concerned there may be other victims who did not report Martinez to authorities.
The sentence sends Martinez to the Arizona Department of Corrections, with probation to follow after his release. A later court decision could determine whether he must register as a sex offender. The murder case against Hulsey and Jaquez remains pending.
Author note: Last updated May 3, 2026.