Torres enters guilty plea for assault on Carson City officer

David Torres entered a guilty plea in Carson City District Court on Tuesday for assault on a peace officer by a probationer.

Torres was arrested May 24 after deputies responded to reports of a man threatening to throw his infant into a swimming pool near the 400 block of Saliman Road. Upon the arrival of deputies, Torres threw a bicycle at two officers before leading deputies on a foot pursuit across 5th Street where he was cornered in the Juvenile Detention grounds and threatened officers by pretending he had a gun in his waistband and yelling “bang” as he pretended to pull it out. One deputy, injured during the incident, is on medical leave for a year.

In court Tuesday, Torres admitted he caused immediate harm to officers when throwing the bike and pretending to have the gun. Assault against a peace office by a probationer is a category D felony and can have a sentence up to four years in prison and $5,000.

Torres admitted to cause harm by pretending to have a gun, but denied harm with the bicycle.

“I had the bike when officers came and I hesitated and let the bike go,” Torres told the judge. “I had no control of the bike going down (the stairs toward officers) and if it had landed on a flat surface I wouldn’t be in this situation.”

The defense asked the court to grant Torres a release on his own recognizance, stating Torres is going to try to get into drug court and try for a mental health evaluation. The defense also said Torres’ girlfriend is pregnant and is financially relying on him to support her. However, the state said Torres is a flight risk and has had numerous convictions including drug, burglary and sexual offenses in the past and is currently awaiting court dates on two domestic battery offenses.

The judge sided with the state and denied to release Torres on his own recognizance. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 15.