Case dismissed when burglary victim doesn't recognize suspect

A 20-year-old Anderson man saw the burglary case against him dismissed Tuesday only moments after he was ordered to stand trial on the felony charge.

Walter Manuel Torres, who had his preliminary hearing Tuesday in Shasta County Superior Court, was ordered to stand trial on the felony count at its conclusion, electronic court records show.

But the District Attorney's Office then moved to have the case against him dropped.

That's because his alleged victim, who did not testify at the hearing, told law enforcement officials who were attending the court proceedings that they had the wrong man.

Shasta County Public Defender Neal Pereira said Tuesday that the alleged victim had apparently picked Torres out of a photographic lineup as the man who burglarized his home.

But when he saw him in court, he realized that Torres was not the man he saw, Pereira said.

"This is very unusual," Pereira said of the quirky episode.

Shasta County Senior Deputy District Attorney Dave Focht, who prosecuted the case, could not be reached after business hours for comment.

Deputy Public Defender Cedar Vaughan, who represented Torres, was also unavailable for comment after business hours, as was Deputy District Attorney James Askew, who apparently overheard the alleged victim say that Torres was not the correct suspect.

Although Torres saw the felony burglary charge against him dropped, he remains in Shasta County jail without bail due to other charges, including allegedly violating probation.

He is tentatively due to return to Superior Court today to possibly change his plea on a misdemeanor marijuana charge, electronic court records show.