Judge reserves ruling on cellphone search of man accused of murdering 9-year-old
A Lee County judge has reserved ruling on a motion to suppress the cellphone search of a man accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering 9-year-old Diana Alvarez of San Carlos Park.
The ruling comes months after Lee Circuit Judge Margaret Steinbeck OK'd a delay in the trial for Jorge Guerrero-Torres, 35, in the 2016 slaying.
Originally slated May 9, the trial for Guerrero-Torres, of Fort Myers, had been pushed back to Sept. 26 or later, court records indicate.
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Guerrero-Torres faces three counts — first-degree murder; kidnapping; and lewd and lascivious molestation. A Lee County grand jury indicted Guerrero-Torres on all three counts May 3, 2018.
He wanted separate trials for each of the three charges. The state denied that motion in February.
Guerrero-Torres was already convicted on two counts of federal child pornography charges connected to the girl.
More than a year after Diana disappeared in May 2016, authorities arrested Guerrero-Torres, questioning him for about three days. More than a year later, the Lee County Sheriff's Office announced Aug. 15, 2017, that Guerrero-Torres was charged with two felonies in the disappearance.
His phone was recovered after investigators narrowed their search to Daytona Beach using a geolocation device. There, they met with Steven Morehouse, who said he found the cellphone and charged it to locate the owner.
Guerrero-Torres was sentenced Aug. 14, 2017, to 40 years for having sexually explicit images of the girl on his cellphone.
Alvarez's family last saw her on May 29, 2016, in their south Lee County home. While her body wasn't found until March 13, 2020, investigators believed Guerrero-Torres killed her.
The News-Press couldn't reach Guerrero-Torres' public defender, Philadelphia Beard, on Wednesday afternoon for comment about the judge's ruling.
Guerrero-Torres is next due in court Friday for a motions hearing, followed by a Monday pretrial conference.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Judge delays motion linked to pornographer, girl's 2016 killing
