San Jose police arrest council member Omar Torres

Story updated on November 6 at 9:27 am. Original story published Nov. 5 at 4:40 p.m

San Jose police have arrested Councilman Omar Torres, his attorney confirmed to San Jose Spotlight.

The lawyer said Tuesday that Torres had been “arrested” and will be arraigned on Wednesday. SJPD confirmed that Torres was taken into custody as part of an ongoing investigation into crimes related to lewd acts with a child. The department plans to release more information at a news conference Wednesday.

Sources, including City Clerk Toni Taber, also confirmed that Torres has resigned from his council seat in District 3. Torres’ resignation is effective Nov. 27, according to the letter he filed with the clerk’s office.

“This choice comes with a heavy heart, but I believe it is in the best interests of my constituents and my community,” Torres wrote. “Serving the people of San Jose has been one of the greatest honors of my life.”

District 7 Councilman Bien Doan said Torres’ resignation marks “a crucial step toward accountability.”

“I have the utmost confidence in the integrity of the San Jose Police Department and their commitment to conducting a thorough and impartial investigation,” Doan told San Jose Spotlight. “With Torres’ resignation, it is now critical that District 3 receive new leadership as quickly as possible. The people of the district deserve to be fully represented, and we must take swift action to ensure their voices are heard on council without further delay. Until then, the mayor, myself and the rest of our council colleagues will continue to do everything we can to support the residents of District 3.”

Mayor Matt Mahan released a statement on Torres’ arrest.

“I am horrified by the possibility that – far from his claim of outrageous fantasies – he has in fact harmed children,” Mahan said. “I trust that our police and prosecutors will ensure that justice is served through the due process provided by our laws. If you have any information regarding this case or any other cases where children have been harmed, I ask that you contact the San Jose Police Department.

District 8 Councilman Domingo Candelas said he is “deeply shocked by the terrible allegations” against Torres.

“This is deplorable and has no place in our community,” Candelas told San José Spotlight. “Our families, our children and our communities deserve leadership based on integrity, transparency and trust. The behavior in question undermines the values ​​we stand for and erodes public confidence in our local government. We must ensure that our leaders hold themselves to the highest standards of accountability. While everyone has the right to a fair trial, I have the utmost confidence in our police department and district attorney to ensure that justice is served to the fullest extent.”

District 5 Councilman Peter Ortiz said he was shocked by Torres’ actions and that his resignation was “necessary.”

“The residents of District 3 deserve representation as soon as possible, and I am committed to working with my colleagues on the City Council to fill the vacancy in a way that appropriately gives the residents of the district a voice,” he said. “Our community truly deserves better, and I am committed to restoring confidence in our local leadership and ensuring we uphold the values ​​of integrity, fairness and transparency.”

San Jose Police served a search warrant and briefly detained Torres early October in an ongoing criminal investigation into alleged “oral copulation of a minor.” The embattled District 3 councilman acknowledged sending lewd text messages about minors through his lawyer, calling them “role playing.”

Opposition to Torres increased in recent days as downtown residents began collecting signatures for a recall initiative. The whole council too called for Torres to resign. It was Doan explore options for removal proceedings and changes to the city charter in light of the unprecedented City Hall scandal.

The scandal caused a political firestorm involving Torres maintained his innocence while avoiding all public appearances and refusing to let go of his chair. His efforts to stay in office were fueled to soften of debate over how councilors could remove himaccusations from A Cover for City Hall And unrest among employees.

Sources told San José Spotlight that Torres was hiding in his mother’s house at the time of his arrest.

Torres’ resignation creates a crossroads for city leaders on how to fill his vacancy, leaving downtown residents and businesses in limbo. Council members could opt for a costly special election. Or they can appoint a replacement and reshape the balance of power between pro-business and pro-labor interests on the council, with four seats available for the taking in November.

Mahan — whose deputy chief of staff Matthew Quevedo helped organize a recall campaign for downtown residents — is leaning toward a special election.

‘Just like him supported special elections in 2022 To fill the vacancies in D8 and D10, the mayor would support a special election in D3 if the seat were to become vacant because he believes the people of District 3 deserve a voice in who represents them,” Mahan’s spokesperson Tasha Dean said. San Jose Spotlight.

City Clerk Toni Taber said she is waiting for an updated cost estimate for a special election. A 2022 memo estimated the cost of a special election for one council district at $1.9 million to $2.8 million.

“You can expect a modest increase,” Taber told San José Spotlight.

Police first announced their criminal investigation on October 3, after they served Torres with a search warrant for passwords to his devices. On October 10, the court revealed that Torres exchanged text messages about sex with minors and texted a photo of an 11-year-old boy who Torres said is autistic, with descriptions of the boy’s genitals. This news broadcast reported only that at least one councilor’s office was contacted about the allegations in 2023 – a year before the police investigation began.

In the documents, police said they interviewed an individual named Terry Beeks, who is described as a 21-year-old Chicago resident who is allegedly extorting Torres over their conversations. Torres admitted to investigators that he paid about $22,000 to Beeks, who told police he met Torres on social media about three or four years ago. Torres claims it was two years ago. The documents contain texts between Torres and Beeks planning a sexual encounter, in which Torres asks if Beeks knows any minors.

The documents do not contain all the information police have about their case – only details sufficient to support probable cause to serve their search warrant against Torres.
The scandal has taken several dramatic turns. The San Jose Police Officers’ Association led the call for Torres to resign. The San Jose Chamber of Commerce, the San Jose Downtown Association, the Vietnamese American Organization, South Bay Labor Council head Jean Cohen, who endorsed Torres’ 2022 council meeting, and the Santa Clara County Democratic Party have all endorsed city ​​council followed by calling on Torres to resign.

The police union also accused San Jose’s top administrators of attempting to interrogate more than two dozen officers — without informing them of their rights or following an investigative process — in a frenzied effort to expose leaks to the media to take. The police union did so in a legal demand letter to city leaders tried to determine the identity of the source by Ramona Giwargis, CEO of San José Spotlight, a move for which the city manager has since apologized.

The union’s letter also questioned whether City Hall’s controversial actions indicate a larger scheme to hide information about Torres — and protect others who may have known about his alleged misconduct. The city has denied the union’s allegations but has not formally responded.

Contact Brandon Pho at (email protected) or @brandonphooo on X, formerly known as Twitter.