True Crime
A Madison County jury convicted John Torres of murder in the Valley Bend Apartments shooting.
On Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, a jury at the Madison County Courthouse in Huntsville, Ala., found John Torres guilty of murder in the 2024 shooting death of Jose Hernandez, 23, at Valley Bend Apartments. Torres claimed self-defense; the jury rejected that claim. Sentencing has not been set.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·
A murder conviction is a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not the prison term. WAFF reported jurors deliberated across parts of two days with questions about Alabama self-defense law and the initial-aggressor rule before Judge Rizardi took the verdict and polled all 12 jurors. A probation report comes before sentencing; no date was announced.
On Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, a Madison County jury found John Torres guilty of murder in the 2024 shooting death of Jose Hernandez at Valley Bend Apartments in Huntsville, WAFF reported. The verdict was announced at the Madison County Courthouse. Torres had claimed he acted in self-defense. The jury rejected that claim.
WAFF said the panel deliberated across parts of two days and repeatedly returned with questions about the charge and Alabama’s self-defense law. On Thursday morning, jurors asked when someone considered the initial aggressor could still claim self-defense. After Judge Rizardi answered, the jury returned and reached its verdict. Rizardi polled all 12 jurors, who confirmed the decision.
Hernandez was 23. His family told WAFF they had waited more than two years for the case to reach a verdict. Torres was taken into custody after the finding of guilt. Judge Rizardi said a probation report will be completed before sentencing; a sentencing date has not been announced. A guilty verdict decides guilt. It does not decide the term. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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