Man attacks boy at movie theater

A 42-year-old carnival worker was arrested Monday evening after allegedly attacking a young boy at a movie theater in Sonora.

Juan Martinez, who is in town for the Mother Lode Fair, was at a showing of “The Amazing Spider-Man” at the Regal Cinemas on Sanguinetti Road when witnesses said he climbed over the theater seats — “like a spider” — and punched a 12-year-old boy in the back of the head for no apparent reason, according to Sonora police.

Witnesses said Martinez had been snoring throughout most of the movie before attacking the boy, who was there with his mother and 9-year-old sister, police said.

The boy’s mother got between her son and Martinez, who then ran after the boy’s sister, according to a Sonora police report. Martinez ran out of the theater after movie viewers began yelling, the report stated.

The boy had no visible injuries from being punched, the report said.

Officers responded about 5 p.m. and contacted Martinez, who claimed he had been “sleepwalking” and had no knowledge of his actions, police said. 

Martinez was arrested and booked into Tuolumne County Jail on suspicion of willful child cruelty.

Sonora Police Chief Mark Stinson said Martinez showed no obvious signs of drug use, but test results won’t come back for several weeks.