One arrest has been made in the death of a nineteen-year-old whose body was found June 9 outside a non-public door at a hospital in Sierra Vista, and additional arrests are possible, Arizona Daily Independent has learned.
Manuel Antonio Long of Huachuca City was taken into custody June 30 by detectives with the Sierra Vista Police Department on probable cause of manslaughter in the death of Jaime “Jimmy” Torres. He is being held in the Cochise County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Long, 21, is also currently charged with for one count each of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, tampering with physical evidence, and influencing a witness. The charges are all felonies.
According to various sources, Torres was shot inside a unit of a Sierra Vista apartment complex around 4 a.m. June 9, then transported by someone to Canyon Vista Medical Center. He was reportedly alive at that time.
But instead of utilizing the emergency room entrance, Torres was left at a non-public entrance. Medical staff pronounced Torres deceased at the scene after he was discovered by hospital personnel sometime later.
SVPD officers were at the apartment complex when news of Torres’ presence at the hospital was reported.
Social media comments that Torres was “dumped” or abandoned at the hospital by someone may not be completely accurate. However, information as to what prompted the shooting, why Torres was taken from the apartment, and what led to Long’s arrest three weeks later is not expected to be available until after the July Fourth holiday.
Anyone with information about Torres’ death or the circumstances leading up to the shooting is asked to contact SVPD Det. Thomas Ransford at 520-452-7500.