PORT ORANGE, Fla. — A former coach at a local jiu-jitsu academy has been arrested in New Mexico on multiple charges stemming from an alleged inappropriate relationship with a juvenile student, the Port Orange Police Department announced.
On July 20, 2026, the department’s Criminal Investigations Division was notified of allegations involving Estevan Gabriel Martinez-Garcia, 33, an adult coach at Bully Me Now Jiujitsu, and a juvenile student who trained at the academy.
The Port Orange Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit led the investigation. After weeks of interviews and evidence collection, detectives obtained an arrest warrant.
Authorities said that between spring 2025 and spring 2026, Martinez-Garcia engaged in grooming behavior that included sexual contact with the then-16-year-old victim and sent sexual images to the juvenile.
Investigators determined Martinez-Garcia no longer lived in Florida and was believed to be in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area.
With assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department’s fugitive apprehension team, he was located and taken into custody on Wednesday.
Port Orange detectives traveled to Albuquerque and were present during the arrest, and obtained a full confession from Martinez-Garcia, according to police.
Martinez-Garcia faces the following charges:
- Sexual battery by an offender 24 years of age or older on a victim 16 or 17 years of age
- Unlawful use of a two-way communications device
- Harmful explicit communication to a minor
- Lewd or lascivious behavior – written solicitation of a minor
“This successful investigation is another example of the commitment and expertise of the dedicated detectives of the Port Orange Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children,” the department stated. “We will leave no stone unturned to protect our children against predators.”
Martinez-Garcia remains in custody pending extradition proceedings.
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