May 16, 2024
(McKinney, Texas) – District Attorney Greg Willis’s Office secured a Life sentence for McKinney man, Joel Jesus Torres, 24, who fatally shot his fiancée.
On November 14, 2021, McKinney officers were dispatched to a “shots fired” call on Kingsway Lane in McKinney. The caller was Joel Torres, who advised to dispatch that he accidentally shot his fiancée, Shailene Velez, while trying to clear his semi-automatic handgun. Upon arrival, Torres told authorities that he was trying to clear the weapon of a jammed bullet while the magazine was out of the gun, and must have accidentally pulled the trigger. Torres advised he was walking toward the victim and shot her approximately 4 to 5 feet away. Torres agreed to speak to McKinney Police Department Sergeant Brett Ward and Detective Jose Quiles and maintained his story of an accidental shooting.
At trial, Torres was confronted with many inconsistencies in comparison to the crime scene, which included surveillance video of a dispute between he and the victim shortly before the shooting, a live round chambered into the weapon, and an apparent staged crime scene. Additional, Victim Velez’s injuries were inconsistent with Torres’s story, and Collin County Medical Examiner Stephanie Burton testified that the victim was shot from approximately 9 inches away due to the gunpowder soot and stippling surrounding the wound.
A jury found Torres guilty of murder.
During the punishment phase, prosecutors presented evidence of Torres’s criminal history, including two Collin County charges of felony delivery of a controlled substance, as well as text messages, photos, and videos Detective Nolan Palmer recovered on Torres’s cell phone showing both the sale and possession of multiple felony controlled substances and possession of firearms.
Torres’s phone also revealed messages detailing the troubled and violent nature of his relationship with the deceased victim. Additionally, DA Investigator Sarah Putman testified to her personal knowledge of Torres as a former Student Resource Officer at Frisco High School. Investigator Putman testified regarding Torres documented history of anger and violence towards classmates, teachers, and the SROs, which resulted in alternative discipline programs and in school suspensions. Lastly, the jury heard about numerous disciplinary infractions Torres has had during his time in custody at the Collin County jail while awaiting trial.
The jury assessed punishment at life in prison.
Visiting judge Ray Wheless presided over the trial.
“No matter how many lies or twists Torres told, the evidence told the true story and the jury saw him for who he really was. He murdered someone he was supposed to love and one day marry. May he spend every day of the rest of his life in prison thinking about that,” stated Willis after sentencing.
Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Cresta Garland and Alex Oestriech prosecuted the case, aided by District Attorney Investigator Robin Laughon and Victim Assistance Coordinators Melissa White and Jill Moore.
#####
