FBI agent Steve Martinez is packing his bags after heading the FBI’s Las Vegas office to take on a bigger job: Heading the Los Angeles Office. Bigger job, bigger headaches. But he’s up for it.
By Richard A. Serrano Las Vegas SunLAS VEGAS — One of Steve Martinez’s first experiences as the head of the FBI office in Las Vegas played out at a carwash.
Killing time, he watched a woman who had just won a jackpot at the poker game inside the lobby. Next he saw her step into the ladies room. When she came out, a man lunged forward, pushed her back in and locked the door.
Martinez drew his firearm. He could hear the woman screaming. He pounded on the door. He yelled “FBI!” He yelled “Police!” He tried everything his training from years ago had taught him. “It was,” he said, “a real-world experience for me.”
Next month Martinez takes his weapon and his badge — and a wealth of experience — to Los Angeles, where he will run one of the largest and most prestigious FBI field offices in the nation.
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