Joseph Torrez
Joseph Luis Torrez (born January 23, 1986 in Las Cruces, New Mexico) is a professional mixed martial arts fighter. Torrez's professional record is 1-5 and his amateur record 16-0. Torrez received significant media attention following a home invasion of his residence on January 1, 2014, where four attackers allegedly threatened him over the phone, and then broke into his home. One of the men was killed, and another seriously injured.
Early Life
He is a 2004 graduate of Mayfield High School, where he played on the football team as a Wide Receiver and Cornerback. In his senior year at Mayfield, Joe left the football team and began wrestling. Joe wrestled in the 140 pound weight class and had an overall record of 25 wins and 5 losses. In his senior year, Joe competed with a fractured hand and placed 5th in state.
Mixed Martial Arts
Joe trained at Bonecrusher MMA for three years after graduating high school, focusing on wrestling and groundwork. Joe also trained with No Holds Barred before moving on to Martinez Inc, which focused on developing Joe's standup fighting skills and kickboxing. Since 2010, Joe has been training at Gracie Barra in Las Cruces under Jacob Benitez, an advanced student of Roberto Alencar. Joe has also trained at Dona Ana Boxing and with Johnny Tapia.
Joe is 1-5 professionally, but sustained a severe injury to his knee during his last professional bout in July, 2013. Joe's amateur record was 16-0 and only two of those bouts made it out of the first round.
Legal Case
Torrez received significant media attention following a home invasion of his residence on January 1, 2014. Sal Garces, Raymond Garces, Nathan Avalos, and Leonard Calvillo are alleged to have forced their way into Joe's home, one armed with a weapon.[1] Joe was in the home with his fiance, two-year-old son and friends. During the invasion, Sal Garces was killed and Nathan Avalos suffered serious facial injuries. Joe only sustained minor injuries, and his family and friends were unharmed. Joe and his family moved out of the area after the attack.
Initially, the Third Judicial District Attorneys Office of Dona Ana County did not exonerate Joe Torrez for the death of Sal Garces.[2] Three of the suspects in the home invasion case were indicted on aggravated burglary, aggravated battery and conspiracy.[1]
Torrez's story was covered widely following a publicity campaign conducted by Torrez's attorney, C. J. McElhinney. Torrez's story has been featured prominently in both national (CNN, Huffington Post, FoxSports and TMZ) as well as international (UK's Daily Mail, Norway's Dagbladet Nyheter, and Australia's News.com) media. Torrez received donations to his legal defense fund as a result of the publicity.
Joe Torrez was represented by the Johnson & McElhinney law firm in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
On July 24, 2014, the District Attorney’s Office announced that it concurs with the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office that after a thorough investigation, that included numerous interviews and police field investigations, finger print, DNA and blood type analysis, and a complete autopsy report, the evidence does not exist to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Joseph Torrez killed Sal Garces without legal justification. The decision proves the claim by Torrez that he and his family were victims of a home invasion, making the use of deadly force justified.
Personal Info
Joe is 5 feet 10 inches and weighs approximately 160 lbs. He competes in the lightweight division. He is engaged and has two children.
References
- 1 2 "Joseph Torrez, MMA Fighter, Fends Off 4 Attackers, Killing 1 During Home Invasion: Police". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ↑ "Lawyer: NM MMA fighter no longer cooperating with deputies after killing man in home invasion". Fox News. Retrieved 30 July 2015.