BEAUMONT, Texas — An 18-year-old Port Arthur man as been indicted on first degree felony charges in connection with a head-on wreck that killed a Beaumont Police officer and injured another earlier this year.
Luis Torres, 18, of Port Arthur was indicted Wednesday by a Jefferson County grand jury on charges of intoxication manslaughter causing the death of a peace officer and a charge of intoxication assault on a peace officer.
The wreck, in the early morning hours of Sunday, August 9, 2020, claimed the life of Beaumont officer Sheena Yarbrough-Powell, 23, of Lumberton.
Her partner, officer Gabriel Fells, 28, was seriously injured in the wreck.
Torres' blood alcohol content was 296 mg/DL the morning of the crash according to a probable cause affidavit. That's more than 3 times the legal limit.
The affidavit says his 'activities' before the crash were found on 'media platforms.'
"Additional information about Torres' activities leading to this event were found on several different media platforms, Torres own admission to consuming alcohol, and witnesses testimony all illustrate a night of heavy drinking," investigators said.
Torres was booked into the Jefferson County jail on Thursday, August, 13, 2020,where his bond was set at $750,000.
The Beaumont Police SUV cruiser the officers were riding in was struck head-on by Torres, who was going south in the northbound lanes according to the affidavit.
Police say Luis Torres, 18, of Port Arthur was driving a 2006 Ford Mustang with its headlights off headed the wrong way on Cardinal Drive near the Highway 347 overpass when he struck the officer’s cruiser.
Powell, a 2015 Lumberton High School graduate, received her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Lamar University and then completed the police academy at Lamar Institute of Technology.
She was sworn in as an officer in December 2018.
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