Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced today a Hudson County Corrections officer shot and killed an escaped prisoner who was being transported to East Orange General Hospital for treatment.
The shooting is being investigated by the Professional Standards Bureau of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. The preliminary investigation indicates that Robert K. Martin, 40, of Kearny, who was being held on bank robbery and other charges, struggled with a corrections officer as he exited the vehicle as he arrived at the hospital. Martin was shot once and pronounced dead at 10:38 am at East Orange General Hospital. The investigation is active and ongoing.
Martin had 14 felony convictions and had been arrested in six states – Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. At the time of his death, Martin was being held on multiple state and federal charges.
Martin was being detained by the U.S. Marshals for a series of bank robberies or attempted bank robberies in April and May of 2010 at federally insured banks in Hudson and Bergen counties. Martin was accused of stealing over $500,000 in a single bank robbery. He was arrested by FBI agents in May 2010. On May 11, 2010, federal authorities alleged Martin entered Sovereign Bank in North Arlington, Bergen County, and announced a bank robbery. In that instance he rounded up three bank tellers and two customers and ordered them into the teller entrance. It is alleged he stole $510,293.
The federal complaint also alleged that on May 4, 2010 Martin entered Oritani Bank in Union City, Hudson County, and demanded money and access to the vault while brandishing a silver revolver. In that instance the teller went to an area behind a safety glass and locked the door and Martin was unable to steal any money.
Federal authorities also alleged Martin robbed a TD bank in Weehawken, Hudson County, on April 13, 2010. It was further alleged that he attempted to rob the Oritani Bank on April 20, 2010. At the time of his death, Martin was facing 20 years in federal prison and $250,000 fine on each count following his arrest in May 2010. He was also facing other charges in Hudson County.
