Lubbock teen arrested in September beating death to be tried as adult
A Lubbock teenager arrested in connection with the September beating death of a 50-year-old man was booked Wednesday into the Lubbock County Detention Center, three months after a district judge ruled he could be tried as an adult.
Lubbock police arrested Steven Tobias Salazar on Oct. 3 in connection with the beating death of Robert Stewart, whose body was found in an vehicle that was abandoned in an alley in Central Lubbock.
He was indicted Jan. 31 for murder, six days after District Judge Douglas Freitag determined Salazar could be tried as an adult.
Salazar, who was being held at the Lubbock County Juvenile Justice Center since his arrest, was booked in the county jail on his 17th birthday. His bond is set at $200,000.
He is one of three people, including one other juvenile, arrested in connection with Stewart's death. Bailey Forrest, 17, also faced a charge of murder in the homicide case.
Prosecutors moved to certify Salazar as an adult and a hearing was set in the 140th District court on Jan. 25.
To certify Salazar as an adult, the prosecutors had to prove he was at least 14 years old when he committed the alleged offense. Offenses eligible for certification include capital murder, a first-degree felony or an aggravated controlled-substance felony.
Prosecutors also had to show there was probable cause to support he the allegation against him and that the gravity of the crime or his background requires adult criminal proceedings to protect the welfare of the community.
However, after certifying Salazar as an adult, Freitag allowed him to remain held at the Lubbock County Juvenile Justice Center until his 17th birthday since Salazar had no disciplinary issues there and state law bars juveniles arrestees to be within sight or sound of adults.
Central Lubbock homicide investigation
His charge stems from a Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit investigation that began on Sept. 27 when Lubbock police officers responded to the scene initially to help the city's solid waste department with a vehicle blocking an alley. Responding officers found Stewart in the back seat of his vehicle and EMS crews pronounced him dead at the scene.
Stewart, who lived about six blocks north of where his vehicle was found, suffered what investigators believed to be blunt-force trauma to his head and torso, according to a redacted probable cause affidavit. Evidence at the scene indicated that Stewart was killed elsewhere and his body was cleaned to hide blood evidence, court documents state.
The next day a tipster told police that Stewart was killed in an apartment in the 2100 block of 51st Street.
Detectives learned that during the investigation into an unrelated aggravated robbery case, Forrest's parents said their daughter lived in the apartment, court documents state.
A second tipster called into the Crime Line number and said Forrest and two other people beat a man to death with a pole, wrapped his body in carpet and dumped the car and body in an alley.
Investigators searched the apartment and found large areas of blood and evidence of a cleanup. They also found a site where evidence appeared to have been burned. However, a partially burned wooden club was recovered from the burn site, court documents state.
Forrest and the 16-year-old girl, who is not being charged as an adult, reportedly told investigators they were present when Stewart was killed, saying Salazar beat Stewart to death.
However, the investigator found that Forrest and the girl's statements contained inconsistencies about their involvement in Stewart's death and obtained a warrant for their cell phones.
The next day, a forensic investigator linked a fingerprint in Stewart's vehicle to Forrest.
Lubbock police arrested Forrest on Sept. 30 in the 4900 block of 4th street. She was booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center on a charge of murder and aggravated robbery where she remains. Her bond is set at $350,000 for murder and $100,000 for the robbery charge.
An hour later, a 16-year-old girl surrendered to police and was taken to the Lubbock County Juvenile Justice Center.
Salazar was arrested Oct. 3, about two hours after police issued a news release identifying him as one of three teenagers suspected in Stewart's homicide case. Typically, police do not identify juvenile suspects, however, police officials believed at the time that Salazar posed a danger to the public. He was also taken to the juvenile justice center.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Judge finds teen arrested in beating death can be tried as an adult
