Torres v. State
Texas Court of Appeals
980 S.W.2d 873 (1998)
- Written by Kelli Lanski, JD
Facts
Albert Hernandez Torres (defendant) was friends with John Dabbs, an undercover narcotics officer. The two men had known each other for about 12 years and met through a mutual friend who owned a body shop. They worked at the shop together before Dabbs became a police officer. Dabbs asked Torres to help him gain access to a drug dealer Torres knew. At the time, Torres had never sold drugs or been in trouble with the law. Torres eventually agreed to help Dabbs acquire drugs from the dealer after Dabbs reassured him that he would be helping police and would not be breaking the law. However, after helping Dabbs, Torres was indicted for delivering drugs. At Torres’s trial, Dabbs admitted that he originated the idea for Torres to buy drugs and deliver them to Dabbs and that Torres was not a drug dealer before Dabbs approached him. Torres testified that he only helped Dabbs because he knew Dabbs was a police officer and Torres thought he was helping get drugs off the street. Torres moved to dismiss the indictment on the grounds of entrapment, and the trial court denied his motion. He pled guilty to delivery of a controlled substance and appealed the court’s denial of his motion to dismiss.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (López, J.)
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