A Bexar County judge has tossed every criminal charge against former San Antonio police officer Matthew D. Martin, clearing a case that once accused him of dozens of counts of child pornography possession and a stalking charge.
The dismissals, entered Monday, June 22, 2026, in Bexar County court, effectively shut down a prosecution that began with a 2022 grand jury indictment and has been badly weakened for months by a key ruling on phone evidence. Court records and a court coordinator confirmed the dismissals and show prosecutors cited “insufficient evidence,” according to KSAT. The outlet reported it had reached out to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office and to Martin’s attorney but had not yet received responses.
Investigation and indictment
Martin’s legal troubles went public in 2022, when a grand jury indicted him on 39 counts of possession of child pornography and one count of stalking, according to a press release from Bexar County.
Arrest affidavits alleged that Martin’s then fiancée opened a shared safe and found an older phone that contained hundreds of images of nude children, which she then turned over to police. Prosecutors also alleged that in July 2021 Martin repeatedly sent her messages and flowers and placed a tracking device on her vehicle.
Ruling that undercut the prosecution
The case began to unravel in August 2025, when the Fourth Court of Appeals upheld a trial court order suppressing evidence from searches of Martin’s phone. The appellate judges concluded the searches lacked effective consent and that the digital files had to be excluded under state law, according to the opinion published on Justia.
The court affirmed the suppression order and lifted a stay of trial court proceedings, stripping the state of its primary forensic evidence and creating a steep legal hurdle that prosecutors have not publicly explained how they might clear.
What happens next
Whether the Bexar County District Attorney will try to refile charges is an open question. KSAT reported that prosecutors and Martin’s lawyer did not immediately comment after the dismissals.
Martin had already left law enforcement years before the indictment. He resigned from the San Antonio Police Department in 2018 in lieu of a perjury allegation in an unrelated matter, earlier reporting shows, and he was not prosecuted on those allegations.
Legal takeaway
Legal observers say the Martin case is a textbook example of how evidence rules can decide criminal outcomes. When courts suppress key digital files, prosecutors may lose the practical ability to prove charges beyond a reasonable doubt, even in cases that once appeared overwhelming on paper.
The Fourth Court of Appeals opinion details the judges’ reasoning on when evidence must be excluded after a private party accesses a device without what the court considers lawful consent. Readers can review that analysis on Justia.
