Defendant granted second mental exam

BENTONVILLE — Martin Tavarez-Torres was found mentally fit to stand trial Monday, but his attorney wants a mental evaluation to determine whether he was capable of understanding the criminality of the alleged actions when his co-worker was murdered.

Tavarez-Torres, 21, is charged with capital murder and has pleaded innocent.

He’s accused of shooting and killing Fidel Mercado Reyes, who worked with him at a Gentry restaurant.

After Tavarez-Torres was found mentally fit to stand trial, Jay Saxton, Tavarez-Torres’ attorney, requested his client be evaluated to determine whether he understood his criminal responsibility at the time of the shooting.

Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green granted Sexton’s request and ordered the proceedings be suspended pending the outcome of the second evaluation.

A mental status hearing is set for 8 a.m. Dec. 18.

Reyes was pronounced dead Nov. 10, 2021, at Siloam Springs Regional Hospital. He was shot once in the back of the head, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Reyes was a cook at La Huerta in Gentry. Restaurant staff told police the shooter was the nephew of the owner and started working there that week, according to the affidavit.

Another restaurant employee told police she heard what sounded like an explosion in the kitchen, according to the affidavit. She said Tavarez-Torres ran past her and out the door, and then she saw Reyes lying on the floor, according to the affidavit.

Tavarez-Torres fled the scene in his pickup. He was arrested in Fayetteville after police learned his brother lived there, according to the affidavit.

Marlenne Navarette-Flores, Reyes’ sister-inlaw, told police she believed the shooting may have been over a slot-machine ticket Reyes won at Cherokee Casino in West Siloam Springs, Okla., according to the affidavit. Police found the winning ticket in Reyes’ jacket at the restaurant, according to the affidavit.

Prosecutors have waived the death penalty, so, if convicted, Tavarez-Torres would be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

Tavarez-Torres is being held without bond in the Benton County jail.