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Luis Fernando Torres, 20, has been behind bars since Aug. 13, 2020, three days after he allegedly drunkenly crashed his Mustang into BPD Officer Sheena Yarbrough-Powell, killing her. -
Lined up outside the courtroom before 9 a.m. May 23 are dozens of family members, friends and coworkers of both Torres and Yarbrough-Powell.
Originally entering a guilty plea in reference to the intoxicated manslaughter incident that killed a 23-year-old, second-year Beaumont police officer, a now-20-year-old man reversed his decision at a May 23 sentencing hearing.
In front of a packed courtroom, Luis Fernando Torres told Judge John Stevens he wanted his cases set for trial, which is now set for July 18. Torres was 18 when he was indicted in November 2020 on charges of intoxication manslaughter, intoxication assault and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The charges stem from an August 2020 accident allegedly caused by Torres driving his Mustang drunk the wrong way down Cardinal Drive and crashing into a Beaumont police patrol vehicle occupied by BPD officers Gabriel Fells and Sheena Yarbrough-Powell. The latter was killed in the crash, and dozens of her family members attended the May 23 hearing where they thought they’d hear Torres’ sentencing.
According to previous reporting by The Examiner, Torres initially asked for a trial that was scheduled to begin April 19, with a jury already in place to hear the case. However, Judge Stevens dismissed the jury that morning at about 11 a.m., just before Torres entered the courtroom to enter a guilty plea he’d reverse a month later.
Claiming culpability for her death in an April 19 guilty plea, Torres agreed to an offer from the District Attorney’s Office, limiting Judge Stevens’ May 23 sentencing to no more than 30 years. However, altering the court’s plans for at least a second time, Torres decided he wants a trial and told the judge as much on the date he was set to hear his fate. According to information from the District Attorney’s office, Torres could face life behind bars if convicted.