Man charged with rape, murder of Patricia Alatorre pleads guilty to all charges

Oct. 4—The rape and murder of sweet, spunky and intelligent 13-year-old Bakersfield girl Patricia Alatorre sparked outrage from thousands. On Tuesday, the Inglewood man charged in her death pleaded guilty to all charges, circumstances in aggravation and enhancements — more than two years after her body was found abandoned in Inglewood.

For about an hour, Deputy District Attorney Tyson McCoy read off 11 charges against Armando Cruz, who then admitted guilt to each one. Cruz, 26, looked down and was barely audible while pleading guilty to first-degree murder, rape, sex acts with a minor, sexual assault with a minor and having sexual content of a minor.

Cruz is anticipated to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after the DA's office agreed to waive the death penalty, said Deputy District Attorney Christine Antonios.

"You have engaged in violent conduct, which indicates a serious danger to society," Deputy District Attorney Tyson McCoy said when reading the charges.

A gag order precludes all attorneys from speaking on the case. Public Defenders Tanya Richard and Thomas Pope represented Cruz after he was dropped by his LA-based attorneys in December 2021.

Patricia Alatorre's mother, Clara Alvarez, sobbed as McCoy read the murder charge in a Kern County Superior courtroom. The hearing was attended by Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer and Assistant District Attorney Joseph Kinzel. Zimmer had said at Cruz's arraignment she would prosecute the case.

The allegations also included Cruz admitting he had 10 or more images involving a minor under 12 years old and 600 pornographic images involving a minor younger than 18 years old.

Cruz told officers with the Los Angeles Police Department he had sex with Alatorre, killed her and then burned her body, according to The Californian's previous reporting.

Alatorre had sent many intimate pictures and videos of herself, and he sent one explicit photo. He drove from Los Angeles to meet her at least two times and sexual acts happened during those times, according to The Californian's previous reporting. It was the second encounter that led to Alatorre's death. The two engaged in sex acts when Alatorre asked to stop. She began screaming and Cruz strangled her.

Cruz told police he threw Alatorre's cell phone near the interchange of Herring Road and Highway 99. Detectives said they found the phone around that area, according to court documents.

He then placed duct tape around her mouth, covered her with a blanket, lit it on fire and fled. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies responded to Aviation Boulevard and West 118th Street after getting reports of a fire. They found an unidentified girl wrapped in a red sleeping bag with duct tape on her arms and mouth on July 3, 2020, according to The Californian's previous reporting.

Alatorre's death sparked outrage throughout Bakersfield and led to numerous tributes in her honor. A mural was unveiled in downtown Bakersfield declaring her Bakersfield's daughter.

Cruz was initially charged in July 2020 by the DA's office, but then a grand jury indicted him in October 2021.

Sentencing was set for Nov. 1. Antonios said there will be several victim impact statements read at that time.

You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.