Judge stays on Garcia-Torres murder retrial after disqualification bid

A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge said he could remain impartial and fair for the high-profile retrial of Antolin Garcia-Torres.SAN JOSE, Calif. (CN) — A superior court judge refused to recuse himself for a high-profile retrial Friday, after a rare public hearing where he read his order and explained why he decided to strike the defendant’s statement of disqualification.Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Brian Buckelew spent about 45 minutes explaining why he denied convicted murderer Antolin Garcia-Torres’s statement of his disqualification from further proceedings.“I am not biased or prejudice in favor of or against Antolin Garcia-Torres,” said Buckelew. “I know of no reason that I can’t be fair and impartial.”Defense attorney Alfonso Lopez sought Buckelew’s disqualification in September, after the judge presided over initial jury selection and other retrial rulings. Buckelew said he disclosed at the start of retrial proceedings in July that he worked for the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office from 2013 to 2021. He clarified Friday that he worked in the gang and narcotics units, never with the homicide team.Lopez told the court the defense will accept Buckelew’s ruling and not appeal, further delaying the retrial.The retrial comes nine years after a jury convicted Garcia-Torres in 2017 of murdering Sierra LaMar, a 15-year-old last seen at a high school bus stop in Morgan Hill on March 16, 2012. Her body has never been found. The jury sought life in prison without the possibility of parole.The California Court of Appeal granted Garcia-Torres a retrial in February, after the prosecution improperly combined unrelated 2009 kidnapping claims with LaMar’s kidnapping and murder. Garcia-Torres remains in prison.Without a body or murder weapon, prosecutors built their case around three key pieces of DNA evidence. Garcia-Torres’ DNA was found on jeans in a bag of LaMar’s clothing dumped near her home weeks after her disappearance, leading to his arrest.LaMar’s DNA was also found on a piece of rope in the trunk of Garcia-Torres’ car and elsewhere in the vehicle.Prosecutors also pointed to testimony from three women who said Garcia-Torres tried to kidnap them from a Safeway parking lot in Morgan Hill in incidents dating to 2009.The jury also convicted Garcia-Torres of those crimes, which the prosecution characterized as a prelude to the kidnapping and murder of LaMar.During the 2017 trial and retrial proceedings, defense attorneys have maintained their client’s innocence.On Friday, Buckelew ruled on several motions in limine for the retrial. He found the defense had a long-standing, exclusive relationship with DNA analysis company Cybergenetics and barred prosecutors from using the company for their own theories and DNA genotype analysis, despite it being one of the few U.S. companies capable of the evaluations needed.Buckelew said sexual motive could come into play at retrial and allowed certain evidence, including Garcia-Torres’ purchase of bleach and a turkey baster days before LaMar’s disappearance. Prosecutors argue the items could be used to insert into and destroy foreign DNA inside a body.He also allowed testimony from two witnesses, including an expert on involuntary urination, which may support the prosecution’s explanation for why LaMar’s jeans smelled of urine.Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney O’Bryan Kenney said jury selection may take longer than expected because many potential jurors already know about the case, have formed opinions or have other reasons for exclusion.Jury selection continues Monday, but no date has been set for opening statements.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads