The judge in the ongoing Sierra LaMar case denied a motion by attorneys for the missing teen’s accused killer to delay the jury trial, which is now expected to begin in September.
Antolin Garcia Torres, 24 of Morgan Hill, appeared in a Hall of Justice courtroom in San Jose for a hearing on the motion to delay the trial Aug. 1. Superior Court Judge Vanessa Zecher denied the motion, which Garcia Torres’ defense attorneys filed more than four years after Sierra went missing from her north Morgan Hill home at the age of 15.
The court and attorneys still have to resolve other pre-trial motions filed on Garcia Torres’ behalf before jury selection can begin, according to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney David Boyd, the state’s lead prosecutor in the case. These include a motion to suppress evidence and another to change the trial venue to another county.
“Defendant is unable to show a reasonable likelihood that he cannot receive a fair and impartial in Santa Clara County,” based on the large population of Santa Clara County from which to draw jurors and other factors, reads Boyd’s motion opposing the request to change the trial venue.
This argument and Garcia Torres’ motion to suppress evidence—which claims investigators’ collection of the suspect’s DNA samples violated the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution—will be heard at the Hall of Justice in late August or early September, Boyd said.
During a 2014 grand jury hearing, investigators revealed they found Garcia Torres’ DNA on Sierra’s belongings, which were found on the roadside in her former neighborhood on Palm Avenue. They also say they found Sierra’s DNA inside Garcia Torres’ Volkswagen Jetta after the teen was reported missing.
Sierra was last seen walking to her school bus stop near Palm and Dougherty avenues March 16, 2012. Investigators think Garcia Torres kidnapped and killed her, though her remains have not been found.
Sierra was a sophomore at Sobrato High School at the time of her disappearance.
Garcia Torres has been in custody at Santa Clara County Jail since his arrest May 2012. He is charged with murder in the Sierra LaMar case.
In an unrelated case, Garcia Torres is also charged with three 2009 attempted carjackings of female customers in the parking lots of two Safeway grocery stores in Morgan Hill.
The DA is seeking the death penalty for Garcia Torres in relation to the murder charge.
Jury selection for the murder trial could begin by Sept. 19, Boyd said.
On July 28, Zecher signed an order prohibiting cameras in the courtroom to cover the trial proceedings.
