Grand jury to hear case of Florida man accused of causing panic at NIBROC

The Florida man accused of causing a mass panic during NIBROC earlier this month will now have his case presented to a Whitley County grand jury following a preliminary hearing Tuesday.

Michael Lee Marteney, 59, appeared in Whitley District Court for Tuesday’s hearing, where Corbin Police Lt. James Miller provided testimony to the court regarding the incident. According to Miller’s testimony, he was one of four officers working NIBROC on Friday, Aug. 11 when there were reports received that shots had been fired at the festival.

Just after 10 p.m., droves of festivalgoers could be seen running away from Depot Street, prompting those in attendance at the concert to soon follow suit.

Miller testified that he ran in the direction of where people were dispersing from.

“I stopped in front of Mr. Marteney’s booth and asked him what was going on. He started saying that we weren’t controlling the kids; there were too many kids running back and forth. He was angry that they were in front of his booth—probably keeping him from having business in his booth, is what I assume,” said Miller.

According to Miller, he asked Marteney if that’s the reason he yelled out “shots fired.”

“He said, ‘yes,’” said Miller.

Miller testified that he never got close enough to Marteney to verify if he smelled of alcohol, though Marteney’s arrest citation stated that he had a “strong odor of alcohol,” as well as “bloodshot and glassy eyes” and slurred speech. According to the arrest citation, a portable breath test was performed on Marteney, which detected a blood alcohol level of .205.

According to Miller’s testimony, “hundreds” of people were involved in the panic that was caused by Marteney’s alleged actions. Additionally, Miller noted that several people fell during the incident, but that officers never were able to speak with anyone after they fled the area, so officers don’t know the extent of any injuries anyone may have sustained.

Miller acknowledged that Marteney never filed any shots during the incident, nor did he state he was going to fire any shots.

Following Miller’s testimony, Judge Cathy Prewitt, who presided over the case, issued a ruling finding probable cause. The case will now be presented to a Whitley County grand jury, where prosecutors are expected to seek to indict Marteney on his charges.

Marteney faces charges of alcohol intoxication in a public place, second-degree disorderly conduct, falsely reporting an incident, second-degree terroristic threatening and six counts of first-degree wanton endangerment.

He currently remains jailed in the Whitley County Detention Center in lieu of a $25,000 cash bond.