Inset: Leonard Torres (Potter County Sheriff's Office). Background: The street where Torres allegedly buried a woman's body behind a garage in Amarillo, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas man is behind bars after killing a woman and burying her body behind a garage, according to Lone Star State law enforcement.
Leonard Torres, 48, stands accused of one count of murder over the death of 31-year-old Faith Smith, the Amarillo Police Department said.
The investigation began earlier this month, after police received information the victim had been shot and buried somewhere.
After receiving that information about the shooting, detectives interviewed witnesses who confirmed the details, police said, according to a report by Amarillo-based ABC affiliate KVII.
Investigators believe Smith was shot to death inside a vehicle.
Torres was identified as the suspect and later arrested after he initially refused to pull over during an attempted traffic stop on Thursday, according to an arrest report obtained by KVII. When arrested, the defendant was behind the wheel of the vehicle connected to the case, one that he was known to drive, police said.
That vehicle was tracked down to the Rama Motel on East Amarillo Boulevard, according to law enforcement. After a warrant was obtained, officers tailed the defendant as he left the motel and a nearby convenience store, then attempted to pull him over after he failed to signal while making a turn, police added.
Torres first fled, according to the arrest report. The brief chase ended after a different police vehicle cut the defendant off and blocked his path, authorities stated. He was initially charged with evading arrest or detention with a vehicle and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The arrest quickly yielded dividends for detectives who learned the location of the victim's makeshift burial site, police said. Authorities flocked to a residence on Orange Street and found the woman buried behind a detached garage that was under construction.
When confronted with the allegations, Torres allegedly admitted to shooting Smith in the head but said it was an accident, according to a criminal complaint obtained by KVII. The defendant also admitted to burying the woman where she was found, police said.
The charging document alleges the fatal violence occurred on Sept. 27, when Torres and Smith were in the backseat of a car driven by a criminal informant. After the shooting, the defendant took the victim's body and buried it near the garage, the informant said.
Torres allegedly threatened the informant after the shooting, according to the complaint. The defendant allegedly pointed his handgun at the woman who was driving the car and threatened to kill her or her family if she said anything about what happened to Smith.
The defendant is currently being detained in the Potter County Detention Center on no bond.
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