ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Albuquerque man accused of opening fire during a road rage dispute and killing a 4-year-old girl pleaded not guilty Friday to first-degree murder and other charges.
Tony Torrez, 32, made his first court appearance since a grand jury indicted him last week on charges that also include assault and tampering with evidence. The courtroom was packed, with more than a dozen family members of victim Lilly Garcia filling several rows.
They sobbed as the girl’s grandfather asked the judge not to lower Torrez’s bond.
“We believe that he is a flight risk and that because of this cowardly act that he has done, he will go to Mexico or some other foreign country and he will not be brought to justice,” grandfather Larry Cruz said. “And we believe he deserves justice, your honor.”
Torrez’s attorneys have raised questions about the cause of the Oct. 20 shooting but did not say much at the hearing, saying they were not prepared to argue on the bond issue. Judge Stanley Whitaker ordered Torrez held in jail without bond. He had previously been held on a $650,000 cash-only bond.
Police said an argument between Lilly’s father and Torrez over a lane change escalated, with Torrez chasing the Garcia family’s pickup truck and then firing shots at the vehicle. The girl, who was riding in the backseat with her 7-year-old brother, was shot in the head. The children had just been picked up from school.
Torrez’s public defenders have said they “expect serious issues to emerge concerning the nature and causes” of the shooting. But they have not elaborated, indicating that the defense’s investigation is ongoing.
“Statements have been made that there can be no explanation for Mr. Torrez’s behavior, but tragedies such as these do not occur in a vacuum,” the state public defender’s office said in a statement last week.
The young girl’s death spawned an outpouring of sympathy nationwide, and the hashtag #JusticeForLilly began showing up on social media the morning after she was killed.
Torrez also faces federal drug and firearms charges. Federal agents launched their investigation into Torrez the day after the shooting, saying in a criminal complaint that they seized $65,000 in cash from his home and a car he was driving when he was arrested.
Agents also reported finding large amounts of marijuana, four guns and a bulletproof vest in another car seen at his home.
