Man pleads no contest to trespassing of MMA fighter’s home in Dona Ana County

Raymond Garces, one of three men charged in a home invasion in 2014, has pled no contest to trespassing.

His sentencing has been delayed.

The other charges he faced were dropped. The charges he originally faced were: First Degree Murder (Willful & Deliberate), Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder (Willful & Deliberate), Aggravated Burglary (Commits Battery), Aggravated Battery (Deadly Weapon) Abuse of a Child (Does Not Result in Death or Great Bodily Harm) (1st Offense) and Criminal Damage to Property (Under $1000).

Dona Ana County Sheriff’s officials say four men, including Garces, broke into Joe Torrez’s Dona Ana home on New Year’s Day of 2014 over a previous altercation.

Sheriff’s officials say the men got into a fight that somehow ended up outside the home and three of the men, Leonard Calvillo, Garces and Nathan Avalos fled the scene. The fourth man, Sal Garces, was found stabbed to death.

Torrez, an MMA fighter, had to wait nearly eight months for the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office to finish their investigation and the District Attorney’s office to make a formal decision in the case. He said he acted in self-defense.

The D.A.’s decided not to file charges against him. Officials said the evidence gathered in the case supported Torrez’s claims of self-defense.