Posted on 12/01/2021 1:53:41 PM PST by nickcarraway
AFitchburg man who faced the greatest number of looting-related criminal charges for a riot Downtown last year that followed a protest over the police custody death of a Minneapolis man pleaded guilty Tuesday to all eight of the felony charges against him as part of an agreement that placed him in a deferred prosecution program.
Under the agreement between Anthony M. Torres, 21, and District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, Torres could come away with no felony convictions if he completes requirements of the Deferred Prosecution Program, which is run by the DA’s office.
Five of the eight felonies would be dismissed once Torres completes the program, while the other three would be reduced to misdemeanors, and then Torres would face sentencing on those misdemeanors.
As part of his participation in deferred prosecution, Torres must pay $3,500 in restitution to Under Armour, which had a sportswear store on State Street that did not reopen after it was looted. The store has requested $25,000 in restitution, but it remains to be determined how that would be divided between Torres and several co-defendants.
“You understand that you are being given what appears to be a gift by the district attorney to participate in deferred prosecution,” Circuit Judge Julie Genovese told Torres, noting most of his charges would be dismissed if he gets through the program. “That’s a very generous deal given the number of cases.”
Ozanne said the offer was made because Torres had no criminal record prior to May 30, 2020, when he and others took part in breaking into and looting shops on State Street following the main protest of the day related to the death of George Floyd. Ozanne said Torres has not committed any additional crimes since the looting episode
Torres was charged with being a party to burglary of Under Armour, another sporting goods store not named in court, Knuckleheads, Ragstock, Walgreens and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Torres was also charged with felony criminal damage to property for damaging a police car that was ultimately set ablaze and destroyed, and breaking windows at the museum.
According to a criminal complaint, a witness who identified Torres to police said during the riot Torres said at one point, “I’m the biggest perpetrator out here,” and “I’m the leader in this (expletive).”
Terms of Torres’ participation in the deferred prosecution program were not specified in court, but participation often lasts for a year, and it requires participants to fully take responsibility for the crimes to which they have pleaded guilty. If he fails to fully take responsibility, Genovese told Torres, he could be kicked out of the program.
If that happens, Genovese would enter judgments on all eight of the felony charges and Torres would face sentencing. The burglary charges each carry up to 12½ years of combined prison and extended supervision and the criminal damage charges each carry up to 3½ years.
The misdemeanors Torres could be sentenced on later each carry maximum sentences of up to nine months in jail.
Many of those who took part in looting associated with Downtown protests have received deferred prosecution outcomes after pleading guilty to felony crimes. Many other cases involving looting and vandalism are still pending.
Sweetheart deals for BLM’ers?
This guy doesn’t sound political.
I’ll bet he has been scared straight!!!
The only way to stop this nonsense is to embarrass the DAs office with publicity. Good start.
I have my doubts about that.
The looting occurred right after the George Floyd incident. Maybe it was just opportunistic looting, but it was done under the umbrella of political protest.
Torres had no criminal record prior to May 30, 2020
Meaning, he never got caught before. People don’t just magically become looters.
He should be in jail for at least a year, etc. No only tshould the prosecutor resign but so should the judge for accepting this gift.
I guess that was yesterday. LOL
This perp is so lucky he didnt take a selfie at those stores. He’d be looking at solitary confinement for 50 years in a DC hell hole prison.
SUCH A BUNCH OF BS!..... what happened to our justice(sic) system??
More pro-crime actions by the Milwaukee county DA, Chisholm. Maybe he should run for mayor, as he’d fit right in with the newly elected pro-crime mayor of Atalanta, GA.
He’ll never complete it. These deals always involve no alcohol or drug use proven by taking random court supervised tests plus community service hours
Guys like this get bored quickly and can’t follow through
I wonder how those types of facts and logic are being applied to
the people who have been hunted down over the January 6th event
at the United States Capital Building.
“Meaning, he never got caught before.”
Not necessarily. It just means nothing went on his record.
I think a lot of criminals, hooligans, etc. just took advantage of the situation. They didn’t care about George Floyd or anything.
Another example of government “giving” resources not belonging to them to others, and then having the nerve to take the credit for it. Hard to say who did the stealing here.
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