ALLEGED KILLER IN COURT
Complaint: Gunman who killed girlfriend was not supposed to have weapons
TRENTON » Alleged girlfriend killer Daniel Torres Jr. made an initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon and pleaded not guilty to murder charges and weapons offenses.
One of the charges against Torres suggests he has a prior criminal history from another jurisdiction or a history of being committed to a mental health institution.
Torres, 38, of South Olden Avenue in Hamilton, is accused of shooting Jennifer Beer multiple times and killing her inside their township apartment early Sunday morning in a brutal act of domestic violence.
Hamilton Police made a forced entry into the apartment after hearing a gunshot about 6 a.m. Sunday and found Beer, 31, a mother of two, lying on the floor of the bedroom suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. She was pronounced dead at the scene and a deceased dog was also discovered in the bedroom in close proximity to her, prosecutors said.
In addition to being charged with murder, certain persons not to have weapons, and possession of firearms for an unlawful purpose, Torres has also been charged with cruelty to an animal on allegations he needlessly killed the dog. Police apprehended Torres Sunday morning at the apartment and formally filed criminal complaints against him later that evening.
Sporting an orange Mercer County Correction Center inmate jumpsuit, Torres appeared in court via video link Tuesday afternoon and answered procedural questions with simple “Yes” answers while his lawyer did most of the talking at the arraignment.
Operating on her client’s behalf, New Jersey state public defender Jenna Casper waived the formal reading of Torres’s warrant complaint and entered a plea of “not guilty” to all charges.
The presiding judge asked Torres whether he understood the allegations in the complaint and whether he understood his defendant rights and whether he had spoken with his lawyer about those matters, and Torres answered all three questions in the affirmative.
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office has filed a motion seeking to keep Torres locked up without bail on pretrial detention. The detention hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday at the Mercer County Criminal Courthouse.
Casper at Tuesday’s arraignment requested that the state of New Jersey provide
her with any 9-1-1 telephone call recordings, body-worn police camera footage and investigative reports related to her client’s arrest.
Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Borgos oversaw Torres’s arraignment on behalf of the state.
When the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office first announced criminal charges against Torres on Monday, the press release did not mention that Torres was also charged with certain persons not to have weapons.
A review of Torres’s case
file on Tuesday showed he had no prior criminal history in the Garden State but is facing four active charges in connection with Beer’s homicide, including certain persons not to have weapons, a charge implying that Torres has previously been convicted of a serious crime in another state or territory or suffers from a mental disorder that handicaps him in the handling of a firearm.
Domestic violence victims can get help without saying a word online at www.thehotline.org or by calling 1-800799-SAFE (7233).