July 14, 2009

Man sentenced to 15 years on multiple charges

     Accroding to a press release from the office of the Wasco County District Attorney, Luis Javier Torres, a resident of The Dalles, was convicted after a jury trial of robbery in the first degree, burglary in the first degree, coercion and interfering with a report on June 11, 2009. He was found not guilty of a second count of robbery in the first degree, attempted rape in the first degree, and there was a hung jury on a second count of attempted rape in the first degree. He was convicted of the crime of sex abuse in the first degree and attempted coercion in a separate trial to the court on June 12, 2009. He was sentenced on July 9, 2009 to 191 months in prison.
     Wasco County Chief Deputy District Attorney Leslie C. Wolf prosecuted the case for the State. Chief Deputy Wolf praised the “courageous women” who testified about what Torres did to them.
     Torres, a resident of The Dalles, was 25 years old, employed by a local roofing company and was married to Aracely Romero and had an 18 month old son.
     Luis Torres was convicted of Robbery 1, Burglary 1 and Coercion for acts he committed against two different Hispanic women when he entered their house on December 24, 2007. One woman was his son’s daycare provider and a friend of his wife, Aracely Romero. The other woman was the woman’s cousin and roommate, who also knew the defendant. Torres came to the victims’ house late at night, pounding on their door. One of the victims let him in believing that something was wrong with his child or family. He came into their home with a knife. Despite their pleas for him to leave, the defendant shut them in their bedroom, demanded one of the victim’s cell phone and ordered them to take off their clothes. He then pulled one of the victims into the kitchen and ordered the other victim to stay in the bedroom. Once in the kitchen, the defendant snorted cocaine which enabled the victim to get away and run back into her bedroom and lock her door, while the other victim pounded on the walls of their apartment for help. Their neighbors who heard their cries for help called The City of The Dalles Police Department who responded in minutes.
     Officers Sean Lundry and Joshua Jones of the City of The Dalles Police Department later went to Torres’ house to interview him. They found clothes matching the description given by the victims, and the dollar bill with the cocaine—which corroborated the victim’s statements to the police.
     During the investigation by Officer Sean Lundry, there was reason to believe that another woman might have had a similar attack. In January of 2009, this separate victim was interviewed and disclosed that she knew the defendant from where she worked and further, that late in the evening around December 15, 2007, that he came to her door, pounding on it, until she let him in. Once inside her apartment he forcibly placed his hands down her pants, sexually abusing her.
During the pending trial, the victims were threatened, harassed and intimidated by the defendant’s wife, Aracely Romero and other friends and family members of the defendant. In one instance, a victim’s house was burglarized and friends and family members would drive slowly by the victims’ house. In a video-taped incident at the courthouse, the defendant’s mother placed a “hex” upon the door of the District Attorney’s Office. Due to the level of threats and intimidation, additional security measures were taken including the use of metal detectors, and armed deputy sheriffs in the courtroom.
     Sentencing was held on July 9, 2009, in the Wasco County Circuit Courtroom before the Honorable John V. Kelly. Two of the victims read statements in which they described the harm that they had suffered at the hands of Luis Torres. They spoke of the continued harassment and intimidation that continued over the last two years while the defendant was pending trial, by the defendant’s wife Aracely Romero, family and friends. One of the victims thanked both The City of The Dalles Police Department and the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office for providing protection to them throughout the process.
     In imposing a nearly 15 year sentence, Honorable John V. Kelly stated “his intention was to take Torres off the street for a significant period of time because he has demonstrated that he is dangerous.” His time will be served both at NORCOR and prison through the department of corrections.
     Chief Deputy District Attorney Leslie C. Wolf said the case was solved “because of all three victims’ bravery, and the hard work of The City of The Dalles Police Officers. The work of Detective Sean Lundry and Officer Joshua Jones was exemplary and deserves special recognition.”