Benton Co. suspect’s crime spree stopped after auditor realizes car was stolen

A 43-year-old man’s string of crimes including car theft, identity theft and burglary, was discovered because of the Benton County Auditor’s Office.

Tony J. Torres allegedly told his son to transfer the title on a stolen car, a ruse that was uncovered when the real owner came into the office, court documents said.

After that initial discovery, Benton County detectives tied Torres to a fraudulently opened $10,000 credit line, multiple stolen guns and threats to use force on a woman to get back a bag of drugs.

Now he’s being held in the Benton County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail on charges of residential burglary, first-degree identity theft and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Torres has an extensive criminal history across Idaho, California and Washington, court documents said. It includes burglary, robbery and possession of stolen property.

This string of crimes started with a plan to burglarize a series of Prosser area homes in early August. Torres allegedly had a list of homes where people weren’t home, and he and another man broke into them.

One of the homes they burglarized was on the 90000 block of West 119 PR Northwest. Once inside they allegedly grabbed a .22 caliber Ruger and a 12-gauge shotgun before stealing a 2008 Acura TL. They took the paperwork for the vehicle as well.

When the car’s owner went to the Benton County Auditor’s Office to replace some of the missing paperwork, the auditor said the Acura’s ownership had been transferred. The owner said his signature was forged on the paperwork.

Investigators discovered the car was now in Torres’ 21-year-old son’s name. His father allegedly asked him to make the change, court documents said.

Detectives found the stolen Acura, and tracked other stolen cars to a Sunnyside home. The court documents did not indicate the son had been charged with any crimes.

Credit line and other items

When investigators spoke to Torres in October, he allegedly admitted to using information he stole to get a $10,000 credit line.

The application for the Teto Car Toys credit was submitted on Aug. 14, just days after the burglary. Torres allegedly used banking information he took from the Prosser burglary.

Torres also made recorded calls from the jail telling his son to move his “toys” out of a Grandview storage unit. His son called back to say that he moved several items directly into his bedroom, including a Winchester bolt action rifle.

Police searched both the storage unit and his son’s room, and allegedly discovered several items that had been stolen out of the Prosser home as well as the rifle that Torres allegedly said during the phone calls that he had bought.

Threats

After his arrest, Torres allegedly started talking to a woman and she mentioned that she had a duffle bag and backpack that he left with her. That conversation was also on a recorded jail line.

She told detectives that she knew he had drugs and other items in the bags.

He allegedly demanded that she return the bags.

He then called other people and allegedly said he had “green lit” the woman, and offered money to find, intimidate or attack the woman, court documents said. “Greenlighting” is a common phrase used by gangs that shows a member is saying it’s OK to attack or kill a person.

He also offered money to people to get the bags back.

Investigators haven’t been able to find the woman or the bag she had.