Defendant tries to withdraw no contest plea in Turlock slaying

Cornelio Torres Jr. was supposed to be sentenced to 24 years in prison in the 2012 death of David Hernandez, but on Tuesday the defendant told the judge he wants to withdraw his plea and needs a new attorney.

On Feb. 9, Torres, 35, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter with an enhancement of using a gun to kill Hernandez. The defendant agreed to a plea deal, so prosecutors dropped the murder charge against him.

Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Dawna Reeves on Tuesday postponed Torres’ sentencing hearing until March 30. The defendant told the judge that he wanted to withdraw his plea because he had inadequate legal representation.

The courtroom was then closed to the public as the judge listened to the defendant’s reasons for asking for new court-appointed attorneys. Deputy public defenders Clifford Tong and Benjamin Rosenstein, who represented Torres throughout the case, were in the courtroom during the closed hearing.

Once the courtroom was reopened, Reeves said Tong and Rosenstein will continue to consult with Torres until next week before the defendant decides his next move.

The judge did allow Hernandez’s family to speak about the impact of his death. The victim worked for 15 years at Volk Enterprises, which manufactures poultry trussing devices and thermometers.

Silvia Cabrera, Hernandez’s wife, said Torres killed her husband without any regard for the effect it would have on their three children, who miss their father dearly.

“He was one in a million,” Cabrera told the judge.

Hernandez, 35, was gunned down outside his grandmother’s house in Turlock. The shooting occurred shortly before 10 p.m. Dec. 29, 2012, in the 800 block of South Avenue, a few blocks east of Highway 99.

“I cry every day for my son,” said Martha Hernandez, the victim’s mother. “It doesn’t get easier, it gets harder.”

An arrest was made not long after the shooting, but Turlock police determined in spring 2015 that they had the wrong person. Police questioned Torres again as part of the investigation and subsequently arrested him on suspicion of killing Hernandez.

Martha Hernandez said in court that the defendant went into her home and offered his condolences as the wrong man was being prosecuted in her son’s slaying. “And you knew you had killed my son,” she said to Torres.

Delilah Hernandez, the victim’s niece, wrote a letter to the judge that was read in court by Deputy District Attorney Jeff Laugero. The niece wrote that her family became divided after her uncle’s shooting death, but “once we found out who really did it, the family became one again.”

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Defendant tries to withdraw no contest plea in Turlock slaying."