Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen is seeking the death penalty for the Morgan Hill man accused of kidnapping and murdering Sierra LaMar more than two years ago.
Rosen’s office announced the decision Monday morning to seek the ultimate punishment for Antolin Garcia Torres, 22, who is accused of abducting the 15-year-old former Sobrato High School sophomore the morning of March 16, 2012.
Rosen’s office discussed the decision whether or not to seek the death penalty with Sierra’s family, who continue to participate in volunteer efforts to find the missing teen, according to Sierra’s uncle Keith LaMar.
“We’re very happy (Rosen) has chosen to do the right thing,” LaMar said. “The ultimate justice would be to have Sierra back at home with all of us. That obviously hasn’t happened, so this is sort of the alternative.”
Rosen added he will not comment further on the decision to seek the death penalty in order to “ensure the defendant receives a fair trial.
Charged with murder with a special circumstance of kidnapping, if convicted Garcia Torres is eligible for life in prison with no chance for parole or the death penalty, Rosen said in a May 19 letter to Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Thang N. Barrett.
Garcia Torres is also charged with three unrelated carjacking and assault attempts in 2009, which took place in the parking lots of two Safeway grocery stores in Morgan Hill. Those charges were filed several months after his arrest on suspicion of kidnapping and killing Sierra.
“Given the facts of this case and after a comprehensive review by a committee of senior prosecutors, I have concluded that this defendant should face the ultimate penalty,” Rosen said in a written statement. “Now, we will go forward with the prosecution of all four crimes against the defendant. Upon a guilty verdict for kidnapping and murdering Sierra LaMar, there is an additional hearing for the jury to decide if the death penalty is the appropriate punishment.”
Sierra disappeared from her mother’s north Morgan Hill home while she was walking to her morning bus stop near the intersection of Palm and Dougherty avenues March 16, 2012, according to police. No trace of her whereabouts has been found since investigators located her cell phone and some of her belongings within a half-mile of her home in the initial days of Sierra’s disappearance.
Garcia Torres was arrested in May 2012 after investigators linked him to Sierra’s disappearance, police said. Even though neither Sierra nor her remains have been found, investigators think Garcia Torres killed her based on evidence collected during the investigation.
Sheriff Laurie Smith has said that Garcia Torres’ DNA was found on Sierra’s belongings, and her DNA was found in the suspect’s vehicle.
Garcia Torres pleaded not guilty to the charges related to Sierra’s disappearance at a hearing at the Hall of Justice in San Jose in February.
Garcia Torres remains in custody at the county jail with no bail.
The decision announced Monday marks the first time that Rosen has sought the death penalty for a criminal suspect since he became Santa Clara County D.A. in early 2011.
In 2010, the D.A.’s office requested and gained the death penalty following jury trials for two convicted murderers in unrelated cases. Melvin Forte, convicted of killing a 23-year-old woman in East San Jose more than 30 years ago, and Rodrigo Ortiz Paniagua, who killed his pregnant girlfriend and two daughters in 2005, remain in custody on death row.
Up to 40 or so volunteers continue to meet in Morgan Hill every Saturday morning to search for Sierra or any evidence of her whereabouts. For more information about the search efforts, which are based at the former site of Central High School at 17960 Monterey Road, go to findsierralamar.com.
