A hearing was held Tuesday in Fourth Judicial District Court for a Sheridan County teenager charged with murder. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.
Alleged Murder Suspect Deemed Fit to Proceed
At a hearing in District Court in November of last year, a mental competency evaluation was ordered by the Court for Christian Torres, who is charged with second degree murder for allegedly killing his father, 47-year-old Edgar “Eddie” Jones at a home in Dayton on July 27, 2021. Torres was 15-years of age when the alleged crime occurred – he is being tried as an adult. The competency evaluation conducted by the Wyoming State Hospital determined that Torres is competent and fit to proceed. Torres, at Tuesday’s hearing in District Court entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental illness or deficiency. Torres will now be evaluated by the State Hospital for mental illness.
Two motions filed by the defense will be addressed in the near future at a yet to be scheduled hearing. One motion is to have the case transferred to juvenile court and the other motion is to have Torres transferred from the Sheridan County Detention Center to a youth correctional facility. While no date for the hearing to address the motions was set, it is likely to take place in either late April or early May. A request to have a different judge aside from the trial judge preside over the motion hearing was granted by Judge William Edelman. It has not yet been determined who the trial judge will be in the case, as there is a conflict of interest issue regarding incoming District Court Judge Darci Phillips. The crime of second degree murder is punishable by not less than 20 years and up to life in prison and a fine of not more than $10,000.
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Last modified: March 15, 2022