Stockton Bank Robbery Hostage: 'I Don't Go Inside The Bank Anymore'
STOCKTON (CBS13) — July 16, 2014 marks the start of Janie Martinez's nightmares.
It was on that day she walked into the Bank of the West on Thornton Road to close out a safety deposit box. She eventually walked out, surviving the most terrifying experience of her life.
"You freeze up when people get close to you. You don't know what's going to happen next," she said.
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Martinez was one of the hostages held by three robbers police identified as Alex Martinez, Gilbert Renteria and Jaime Ramos.
Martinez is still confused by the robbers' actions, including one showing her compassion.
"I had difficulty getting to the floor and they said 'Well, just go and sit down over there,'" she said.
It was a sharp contrast to how they treated customer Misty Holt-Singh, who lay crying on the floor, begging them not to take her out of the bank anyway. They took her anyway. She was later used as a human shield during a shootout between Stockton Police and the suspects, miles from the bank. She died in the shootout, along with two other suspects. The surviving suspect, Ramos, could face the death penalty.
Martinez says when police came into the bank, the robbers were gone, but the hostages could hear the shootout over the officers' scanners. She says she now suffers from depression and anxiety out in public. At her new bank, she uses the drive-up teller.
"I don't go inside the bank any more," she said.
Martinez wants to attend the trials of Ramos and Pablo Ruvalcaba, the man accused of driving the suspects to the bank. Although she hasn't seen any of the other hostages since their terrifying capture together, she thinks seeing the other hostages will give her closure.
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"I think it'll be a good feeling to see them again to talk to them. knowing that I know what you're feeling," she said.
Ramos and Ruvalcaba will be in court together for further arraignment on July 27.
