Tag: law_crime

The mother of the suspect accused of kidnapping and murdering 15-year-old Sierra Lamar says she believes her son is innocent, but Sheriff Laurie Smith insists the DNA evidence found in his car and on Sierra’s belongings is damning - even if her body is never found. Meanwhile, a former FBI agent says Antolin Garcia Torres, a husband and father to a 20-month-old daughter, could have fooled everybody.

UPDATE: The arraignment hearing for Antolin Garcia-Torres, the Morgan Hill man accused of kidnapping and murdering Sierra LaMar, was continued one week and will now take place at 2 p.m. May 31, at the Santa Clara County Superior Court Hall of Justice in San Jose.

UPDATE: Murder suspect's arraignment moved to San Jose courthouse at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Authorities have reportedly uncovered a ring of scam artists who ripped off insurance companies to the tune of about $170,000 by staging car accidents and seeking payouts for faked injuries, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office. 

Police arrested a man in connection with the disappearance of Sierra LaMar who has prior arrests and has been linked to at least one incident in a string of unsolved assaults against women in 2009 at two Morgan Hill grocery stores. 

While Morgan Hill police were outside a residence checking out a stolen motorcycle, another jacked street bike pulled into the driveway last weekend, authorities said. 

Sheriff’s office plans to send divers into local waterways to search for Sierra LaMar and received some tips in response to Friday night’s airing of a segment on the missing Morgan Hill teen on “America’s Most Wanted.” 

Anyone who saw a red Volkswagen Jetta with a black hood in north Morgan Hill or south San Jose around the week of March 16 is asked to contact the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, because investigators have linked the vehicle to the disappearance and kidnapping of Sierra LaMar.

A registered sex offender who was involved in a domestic dispute Wednesday ran barefoot from police and was arrested when a sheriff’s K-9 officer bit him on the arm, according to authorities.

There is no likely connection between the red car associated with the kidnapping of Sierra LaMar and a vehicle reported in relation to similar attempts in other communities, authorities said.