GUILTY WY - Park Co., Male UP11992, decapitated, Jan'14 - Juan Guerra Torres

[OkieGranny]

http://www.powelltribune.com/news/item/14736-murder-trial-delayed

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...

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...

Pedro Garcia does not currently have a trial date.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

From October:

Woman pleads guilty to reduced charges in Badger Basin murder

http://www.powelltribune.com/news/item/15315-woman-pleads-guilty-to-reduced-charge-in-badger-basin-murder

Sandra Garcia admitted Tuesday that, when she brought her husband to a prearranged meeting place in early 2014, she knew something bad might happen. And after Juan Antonio Guerra-Torres was murdered and his mutilated body abandoned in Badger Basin, Sandra Garcia admitted she tried to help throw authorities off the trail of the men alleged to have killed him: her brother Pedro Garcia Jr. and family friend John L. Marquez.

At a Tuesday morning hearing in Park County’s District Court, 28-year-old Sandra Garcia pleaded guilty to felony counts of aiding and abetting manslaughter and being an accessory after the fact to second-degree murder. Those were reduced from original charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and aiding and abetting first-degree murder as part of a plea deal with the Park County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

She agreed to accept — and District Court Judge Steven Cranfill agreed to impose — a 10- to 18-year prison sentence for the crimes as part of the deal.

“I would just like to say that I truly am sorry for everything that happened,” Sandra Garcia said.

Pedro Garcia, 30, remains jailed on counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and aiding and abetting first-degree murder while Marquez, 53, is being held on allegations of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. They both have pleaded not guilty to the allegations, with no trial or other court dates currently scheduled.

As part of the deal, Sandra Garcia has also agreed to testify as a witness for the prosecution against both Marquez and her brother if there’s a trial.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Powell man changes plea to guilty in murder case

http://www.codyenterprise.com/article_6eaaa918-e35e-11e6-b49e-cbbd7f2c5cb1.html

Pedro Garcia, Jr., 28, pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting in the murder of Juan Antonio Guerra-Torres.

The plea agreement dropped the murder charges and means Garcia now faces from 25 to 40 years in prison, with credit for time served. He will be sentenced at a later date.

After repeated continuances the murder trial now seems to be moving forward. John Louis Marquez is also charged with murder in the case. In statements to police, both Pedro and Sandra Garcia have said that Marquez fired the gunshots that killed Guerra-Torres.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Last defendant in case set for October trial

http://www.powelltribune.com/news/item/15748-last-defendant-in-case-set-for-october-trial

Two of the three defendants charged in connection with a Mexican man’s 2014 murder and mutilation reached plea deals with the Park County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The third defendant, however, appears to be planning to take his case to a jury.
John L. Marquez — the man alleged to have actually shot and then dismembered Juan Antonio Guerra-Torres — recently received an Oct. 23 trial date.

Marquez, 53, has denied allegations of first-degree murder and conspiring to commit first-degree murder; he has said it’s “ludicrous” and “crazy” that a judge signed off on the charges in 2015.

Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Steven Cranfill scheduled the trial in a Friday order, after Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Blatt asked the judge to set a date.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

For Badger Basin murder, man receives 25 to 35 years in prison

http://www.powelltribune.com/news/item/16005-for-badger-basin-killing-defendant-receives-25-year-prison-sentence

John Marquez, 53, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Park County’s District Court Tuesday afternoon, admitting he “purposely and maliciously" shot and killed Guerra-Torres sometime between Dec. 15, 2013, and Jan. 8, 2014. Though it was not brought up in court, prosecutors have alleged that Marquez later dismembered Guerra-Torres’ body with an ax in an attempt to keep his remains from being identified.

District Court Judge Steven Cranfill accepted a plea deal reached between Park County prosecutors and Marquez’s defense team and sentenced Marquez to 25 to 35 years in prison. The deal was abruptly agreed upon only hours before Cranfill imposed the sentence; the case had been set to go to trial in October on a first-degree, or premeditated, murder charge.

“I know what I did was wrong, now I’ve got to suffer the consequences. But I was led to believe my son and my grandchildren were in danger and that Pedro Garcia’s father and his mother [also were] and I did what I had to do,” Marquez told the judge. “Would I do it again? No, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t even think of doing something stupid like that again.”

“I’m sorry his [Guerra-Torres’] family lost their brother, their son and his children lost their father,” Marquez added.

Authorities have been unable to get in contact with Guerra-Torres’ family since his murder, now more than three years ago.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Last of 3 defendants sentenced for murder, decapitation of man near Cody

http://www.ktvq.com/story/35735188/last-of-3-defendants-sentenced-for-murder-decapitation-of-man-near-cody

Pedro Garcia was sentenced in Park County District Court to a term of 25 to 40 years at the Wyoming State Penitentiary, according to Bryan Skoric, the prosecutor.

Garcia pleaded guilty in January to the charge of aiding and abetting murder in the second degree.

Garcia received the harshest punishment of the three defendants involved in the murder of Juan Guerra-Torres, who was shot several times before being decapitated and dismembered.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

http://www.powelltribune.com/news/item/16134-last-defendant-sentenced-for-badger-basin-murder

In his statement to the court on Friday, Pedro Garcia began by apologizing to Guerra-Torres’ family members, who were not present and who have not been located by law enforcement.

“I know my apology won’t bring back their beloved son, brother or father; I also know that my apology won’t heal the wounds that have been left in their hearts,” Pedro Garcia said. “I just hope they all will forgive me one day for this.”

He also apologized to the people of Park County for putting fear into the community, for all the time and effort spent by law enforcement on the case and to his own family.

Garcia promised to complete programs to get some education and help with his addiction, telling his family he would “try to get out as quick as I can to come back to you all and be the father you deserve to have.”