BY KEITH EPPS
A Fredericksburg jury late Wednesday recommended a six-year prison term for a man who left his badly beaten friend lying in the street, then drove away in the victim's Hummer.
Jason Paul Woods, 30, of Stafford County, was found guilty of unlawful wounding and unauthorized use of a vehicle. Judge Gordon Willis will formally sentence Woods on Jan. 14.
The jury chose not to convict Woods of a more serious malicious wounding charge.
Jeffrey Martens was unconscious and shirtless when witnesses saw him on State Route 3 near Central Park early Dec. 12, 2006.
Martens, who has since moved to Ohio, has been through nine surgeries since the beating and has permanent injuries.
Martens has no recollection of the beating, but witnesses testified that they saw a man pummeling Martens about 4 a.m. that day. Police later determined that the attacker was Woods.
According to testimony, Woods and Martens were part of a group of friends who got together in Washington and Northern Virginia that night to party and drink.
Their last stop was the Russia House in Washington, where members of the group drank vodka and beer.
Martens and his wife, Julie Martens, had a disagreement toward the end of the night and she refused to ride home with her husband.
Woods and his girlfriend, Sarah Cardoza, drove Martens in the Hummer while Julie Martens rode back to the Fredericksburg area with someone else.
Woods and Cardoza testified that Martens was out of control by the end of the evening. They said that after leaving the Russia House, Martens took off his clothes and was chasing cars.
Woods said he was finally able to get Martens into the vehicle and head south. Woods said he had to pull over on Interstate 95 because Martens was trying to climb out of a back window. He got out of the car again and ran around.
"He was really acting the fool," Woods testified.
Woods said that by the time they got to the Fredericksburg area, he'd forgotten that he left his Jaguar in a North Stafford commuter lot.
Instead he headed for Outback Steakhouse off the Route 3 exit, where he thought the car was.
Realizing his mistake, Woods said he headed back toward the interstate. Cardoza said by this time, Martens had climbed over the seat and was choking Woods.
That part of the story was in part corroborated by Fredericksburg Deputy Wayne Retter, who drove by and saw a man fitting Martens description hitting the driver of the vehicle.
By the time Retter turned around, the driver was gone and Martens was in the street.
Other witnesses testified that they saw Martens punched and kicked between 18 and 20 times. Cardoza said Woods hit Martens just a few times.
Martens said he didn't remember anything between the time he passed out in Washington to the time he woke up in the VCU Medical Center. Martens spent several weeks in the hospital.
Woods was arrested after Detective Mark Purcell had Julie Martens call him from the police station to talk about the incident.
Woods, who is represented by attorney Jim Ilijevich, testified that he "lost control" after putting up with Martens behavior but didn't intend to hurt him.
Commonwealth's Attorney LaBravia Jenkins scoffed at Woods' claim that he was defending himself. "This was a brutal beating that went well beyond a man trying to protect himself," Jenkins said.
Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com