Campbell Resident Gets DA's Medal Of Service For Aiding In Arrest

Campbell CA

17 September, 2021

3:53 PM

Description

CAMPBELL, CA —Farukh Mamedov, a local business owner and Campbell resident, was honored by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office during a Wednesday ceremony for his role in the July arrest of Wesley Martines, who was found with an illegal arsenal and racist manifesto. The DA's office suggested Mamedov's actions may have prevented a mass shooting. At a ceremony at the Campbell City Hall Council Chamber, District Attorney Jeff Rosen presented Mamedov with the Medal of Service, which Rosen described as his office's highest honor. Rosen also used the occasion to release a new public service announcement highlighting the need for the public to help law enforcement use the state's "Red Flag" law, which can take weapons out of the hands of dangerous people. "You don't have to be a cop, a firefighter, or a superhero to save innocent lives. You just need to call 911 when you see someone armed and dangerous," Rosen said. According to reports, that's what Mamedov did just after midnight on July 9, when he called Campbell Police to say he could see a man on his security camera prowling the area of East Sunny Oaks Avenue and looking into vehicles and a storage shed. Police responded to the scene, stopping a truck driven by the suspect. Inside, according to officers, they found two AR-style rifles, which are illegal in California, a Glock 9mm handgun and ammunition with phrases like "cop killer," "To a widow from the Grim Reaper" and "A Good Start" inscribed on them. The police also reportedly found body armor, heroin, methamphetamine, a pipe bomb filled with pellets, but no explosive materials, and a journal with racist and Anti-Semitic writings and plans to tie up employees at a local sporting goods store. Officers arrested Martines, and with the assistance of the DA's office, obtained high bail, search warrants and served a gun violence restraining order on the suspect in order to seize his weapons, the DA's office said. "Once again, law enforcement saved lives before the blood and tears flowed," Rosen said at the the time. "All of us have a role in stopping the next mass shooting, suicide, or domestic violence murder. Please call law enforcement if you know that someone is armed and dangerous." This is the same message in the 35-second PSA, which features Rosen, Russell Davis, a deputy from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, Esthela Rocha, a detective from the Gilroy Police Department, along with family members of people killed in gun violence, including the VTA workplace mass shooting earlier this year. The PSA ends with the message "Raise the Red Flag."