Murder trial delayed

Posted 4/14/16

The first of three trials scheduled in connection with the January 2014 murder and mutilation of 30-year-old Juan Antonio Guerra-Torres had been set for next month, but it’s now being postponed.

Sandra Garcia’s trial had been scheduled to …

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Murder trial delayed

Posted

Park County prosecuting attorney said both sides wanted more time

It appears that a 2014 murder case will not be resolved anytime soon.

The first of three trials scheduled in connection with the January 2014 murder and mutilation of 30-year-old Juan Antonio Guerra-Torres had been set for next month, but it’s now being postponed.

Sandra Garcia’s trial had been scheduled to start May 2 and run through May 13 in Park County’s District Court in Cody. On Friday, however, the prosecution and defense asked for the trial to be pushed back to a later date.

Park County Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Skoric said both sides wanted more time. He declined to comment further.

The prosecution alleges that Sandra Garica — who was Guerra-Torres’ longtime girlfriend — asked brother Pedro Garcia Jr. to find someone to kill him. Charging documents allege that Sandra Garcia told her brother that Guerra-Torres had become endebted to dangerous drug dealers in Mexico and she feared for her family’s safety.

The allegations are based largely on statements from Pedro Garcia Jr. He reportedly told investigators that he hired family friend John L. Marquez to commit the murder. By Pedro Garcia’s account, Marquez shot Guerra-Torres at a pullout off Wyo. Highway 294, then abandoned his body on a nearby dirt road after removing his head, hands and an arm with an ax.

The mutilation of the body made identifying Guerra-Torres’ body difficult for investigators and it took more than a year to make arrests.

All three defendants have pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

Marquez is set for an August trial. His attorneys are currently trying to suppress the results of an advanced DNA test that was performed on gloves found near Guerra-Torres’ body. The actual results of the test have not been disclosed in court documents.

Pedro Garcia does not currently have a trial date. Court documents and testimony indicate he has cooperated with authorities and it’s common for prosecutors to delay the cases of cooperative defendants until other defendants’ cases are closed.

Guerra-Torres was a Mexican citizen who split his time between California and Clark. His body was found along the remote Bureau of Land Management road in Badger Basin on Jan. 9, 2014.

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