District attorney announces felony domestic violence conviction
On February 15, 2018 a jury convicted Jose Guadalupe Torres on several counts of violations. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Laura Keenan.
Torres was convicted with felony assault with a deadly weapon, felony criminal threats while using a deadly weapon and two counts of felony domestic abuse. These counts are the result of an incident that occurred on March 14 and 15, 2017.
On the night of March 14, 2017, Torres physically attacked the victim while forcing her to drive around looking for money to fuel his drug habit. He punched the victim, struck her with a tool and a knife, and threatened to kill her and throw her body in the canal while holding a knife to her.
The following morning, Torres continued to force the victim to look for money and escalated with more physical assault. He jammed scissors into her thighs, kicked her in the face, punched her in the mouth and tried to stab her with a knife.
In fear for her life, she tricked him into thinking she was getting a Moneygram to buy the drugs he wanted. However, when she got to the counter at Walmart, she covertly passed the clerk a note to call the police.
The victim was not cooperative with the trial, testifying that her injuries were caused by a robbery the night before. The case was presented to Judi Klein Pritchard who has worked directly with domestic violence victims.
“This case is an example of how important it is for us to prosecute domestic violence cases even when the victim is uncooperative when the case goes to trial. The defendant in this case had a prior assault with a deadly weapon conviction in 2015 and it appears the cycle of violence is escalating” said District Attorney Gillbert G. Otero.
The sentencing for Jose Guadalupe Torres is scheduled for March 14, 2018 at 1:30 pm before the Honorable Marco D. Nunez.
