MMA fighter may face charges for killing a man who broke in

[philip964]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.1567059" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MMA fighter may face charges after four gang members broke into his trailer home in New Mexico. One dead, one in the hospital, two ran away.

Defending his home, wife and toddler against 4 gang members who broke the door down. Robbers were armed with knives. MMA fighter was armed with fists.

New Mexico maybe it is the New York.

[Cedar Park Dad]

The article posted just has a one liner with "could face charges authorities said." Thats a given. He could face charges until the investigation is finished. Thats just a statement of fact.

[Texsquatch]

This one won't be so cut & dry for his defense since there is an apparent history. I'm not taking the bad guys side by any means, but since they called to threaten him before showing up, some will argue why he didn't alert the police. Also, the BG was stabbed and died, so at some point, a weapon he or his gang brought with them was used against them. On the surface, good for the defender, but the article doesn't provide details regarding the BG's death. So, we run into that problem of whether this was justifiable, or was the guy stabbed in his back while trying to leave. Random home invasion, I think it's easier to defend, but when these guys have a history together, it gets ugly for sure.

[ELB]

I read all the links accompanying the article. Unless something else really interesting appears, I do not see how the MMA fighter realistically faces any charges. The stabbed invader died some distance away, but blood stains were found on property where he and his buddies invaded. Even if it turns out that Torrez has a shady past himself, he still gets to defend his home.

AFAIK, New Mexico does NOT have a Castle Doctrine law like we do in Texas, but even if there is a duty to retreat, that normally only applies if it can be done in safety; running from four guys in your house would be tough, and there were several other people there that Torrez was defending.

Four on essentially one, two of the invaders were armed with pointy objects, broke down the front door, all four have substantial criminal histories (one was wearing an ankle monitor at the time)... I don't see how he is in much legal jeopardy.

The local newspaper stated: "He has not been charged in connection to the incident because authorities believe he acted in self-defense. For those reasons, the Sun-News is not identifying him."

Interestingly, his MMA ring record is 1 win, 5 losses. But now his household record is 4-0.


ETA: I may have to amend this, or more accurately, there may be something not reported going on. Or his attorney is really aggressive in shaping the battlespace. Article says his attorney has advised him to stop talking with the police, and has gone on the offensive in the press, posting on Facebook, "McElhinney [Torrez's lawyer} wrote: "Unfortunately, I think we are at the beginning of a very long fight. Please know that I have advised Joe to make no statements of any kind until this situation is resolved. He is reading all of your posts and truly appreciates your support.""
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-ne ... al-defense" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I still think there would have to be something really squirrelly for this not to come out as SD, but we shall see.

[johncanfield]

..New Mexico maybe it is the New York.

Or California. They have a huge influx of Left Coast foreigners moving in and Santa Fe is the San Francisco of the southwest.

[Texsquatch]

The attorney's comments bother me and one article describes the deceased as "beaten and stabbed". The "beaten" part may be the result of confronting a trained fighter, but I also take the word to imply a prolonged beating.

[03Lightningrocks]

This seems a bit nutty to me. It seems it is better to shoot the bad guys so they don't say you went to far with a beating???

[WildBill]

This seems a bit nutty to me. It seems it is better to shoot the bad guys so they don't say you went to far with a beating???

I think that problem is that you are supposed use deadly force only to stop the threat. If this person continued beating the men after they were no longer a threat, then this is a problem.

[03Lightningrocks]

This seems a bit nutty to me. It seems it is better to shoot the bad guys so they don't say you went to far with a beating???

I think that problem is that you are supposed use deadly force only to stop the threat. If this person continued beating the men after they were no longer a threat, then this is a problem.

I never really thought about it before but it makes me think I am on better legal footing to shoot an intruder than try to knock him out. I suppose the analogy here would be if you pumped a few rounds into an attacker after he was laying on the ground, you might be finding yourself charged with murder.

[WildBill]

This seems a bit nutty to me. It seems it is better to shoot the bad guys so they don't say you went to far with a beating???

I think that problem is that you are supposed use deadly force only to stop the threat. If this person continued beating the men after they were no longer a threat, then this is a problem.

I never really thought about it before but it makes me think I am on better legal footing to shoot an intruder than try to knock him out. I suppose the analogy here would be if you pumped a few rounds into an attacker after he was laying on the ground, you might be finding yourself charged with murder.

That happened to a pharmacist [in I think Oklahoma] who was charged for killing a robber after he was already wounded and on the ground.

[Dori]

..New Mexico maybe it is the New York.

Or California. They have a huge influx of Left Coast foreigners moving in and Santa Fe is the San Francisco of the southwest.

It's called New Mexico but new isn't the same as "new and improved."

[WildBill]

..New Mexico maybe it is the New York.

Or California. They have a huge influx of Left Coast foreigners moving in and Santa Fe is the San Francisco of the southwest.

It's called New Mexico but new isn't the same as "new and improved."

Taos has become a haven for artists and a huge tourist spot. Unfortunately, it does tend to let liberal politics flourish.
There may be some problems in NM, but it is a BIG improvement.

[K.Mooneyham]

Just because the press says one of the assailants was "beaten" does NOT sway me. The mass news media has a love affair with criminals and thugs; it seems they almost always take the side of the criminal. Maybe the defender in this story is no angel, but on the other hand, four men attacked him in his home where the man's family was at the time. If the thugs wanted him that badly, they could have waited for him and jumped him elsewhere. They didn't care who got hurt, they wanted trouble and unfortunately for them, they got it.

[JSThane]

It also depends on whether any of the thugs involved in the attack are connected, either as a family member of a cop / lawyer / elected official, or as a key witness or associate of a key witness in an ongoing trial or investigation. New Mexico is nowhere nearly as corrupt as say, California or Illinois, but we do have a heavily-entrenched "good ol' boy network," and a fairly strong "pragmatists' corruption." I know of several cases where charges were pressed against home invasion victims because the attacker was either related to someone important, or was the boyfriend of a key murder witness (and the witness clammed up until charges were brought against the horrible man who shot her baby-daddy). I know a couple cases where the victim was railroaded, exonerating evidence suppressed, convicted, and then freed a couple years later on a wrongful arrest / imprisonment / conviction appeal.

Dona Ana county is particularly bad about this. Oh, yeah, and our current governor is the former DA for Dona Ana. And while she's "Republican," she hates guns for anyone except cops, isn't particularly friendly to self-defense, and ain't that bright.

I expect our MMA fighter to face charges. I -would- like to be on that jury, though.

[Texsquatch]

I'm not saying he would be convicted, but wouldn't be shocked if he was charged. DA's love to throw charges out there and see what sticks.