Update: Torres still in police custody
By: Meghan Backus
Updated: October 17, 2007
The man accused of running down Arlene Page, school crossing guard, faced a judge today. The judge entered a not guilty plea on behalf of 19-year-old Ricardo Torres who is being held on $10,000 bail.
Page’s family left city court upset and angry with the judge’s ruling.
“Why would you give someone bail who killed somebody?,” said Tamara Page. “That's saying it's okay to go and shoot somebody in broad daylight in front of the police.”
According to a statement made to police, Torres says it was an accident. Page waved him on to turn left onto Bloss Street
Witness statements to police indicate Page had her stop sign held up in the direction of Dewey Avenue, where Torres had stopped at a red light. When the light turned green, they say he turned onto Bloss Street, hit Page and then kept on going at a high rate of speed.
But Page’s family says it doesn’t matter what happened – Torres shouldn’t have left the scene.
“He don't care,” Tamara said, “not one bit because if he did he would have stopped.”
Prosecutors say several factors were taken into consideration when setting the bail for Torres.
“The judge took many things into consideration -- somebody's ability to return, what their prior record is, their contacts in the community,” said Jennifer Whitman, “and obviously Judge Morse did that and felt that was a fair bail.”
