10 years ago

Memphis – On Monday, April 6, 2015, one plea took place in Hall County, Texas which resulted in the conviction and sentence of a local drug dealer.

Luke Inman, the District Attorney for the 100th Judicial District, prosecuted the case for the State of Texas, with the Honorable Judge Stuart Messer presiding.

Martin Aimsnza Torres was convicted for the first degree felony offense of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Torres pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in the Institutional Division of TDCJ for the offense.

Torres, 42 from Memphis, was arrested in Hall County for the offense that took place Nov. 19, 2014 by DPS Trooper Justin Dillman and Corporal Chad Baize after they conducted a traffic stop and located two different penalty group one controlled substances in his vehicle. Torres was later indicted by a Hall County Grand Jury on Jan. 20, 2015.

The arrest stemmed from a year-long investigation in drug trafficking in the area lead by the Texas DPS Criminal Investigations Division, and assisted by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office and Memphis Police Department.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Torres is also required to pay $381 in court costs and $180 restitution.

“This plea was a direct result from the CID Agent’s tireless effort to rid Memphis, and the surrounding counties in the 100th Judicial District, of local drug traffickers,” said Inman. “The plea reached in this case is a testament to their hard work and dedication to this district and the rest of the Panhandle.”

Torres faced other charges stemming from the original arrest, which included other possession of controlled substance charges and money laundering. Pursuant to the plea, all cases were taken into consideration.

According to court documents, after Torres’ initial arrest by Dillman and Baize, search warrants obtained by CID Agents were executed at Torres’ local business, his residence, and his safety deposit box at the Memphis State Bank.

CID Agents seized multiple vehicles, United States currency, and residences after additional controlled substances were located at the business and residence by Hall County Sheriff Tom Heck and Memphis Police Chief Chris Jolly.

“This was a team effort with multiple agencies and the D.A.’s office that has had a major impact in Hall County,” said Heck. “We appreciate the assistance from CID working area informants to make major cases like this one and we appreciate their ongoing efforts in this fight in this County.”

The State filed a seizure petition, alleging the vehicles, money, and real properties were either used in the commission of the offense or derived from the proceeds of illegal activity.
After the guilty plea, the parties reached an agreement on the civil forfeiture that granted the business, the residence, several vehicles and the majority of the money to the State of Texas.

“Chapter 59 of the Code of Criminal Procedure allows the seizure and forfeiture of items that drug dealers are using or buying to sell drugs and we are very proactive on utilizing this section to make sure they cannot use those items ever again and to help other law enforcement purposes,” said Inman.

The properties and vehicles will be sold at a public auction. The money will be split between the 100th District Attorney’s Office and Texas DPS according to their sharing agreement.