LANCASTER, PA — The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office has determined that the homicide of 35-year-old Hector Burgos-Torres in West Hempfield Township earlier this year was justified. Burgos-Torres was shot in a residence in the first block of Lincoln West Drive, West Hempfield Township, in the early morning hours of Jan. 8, 2023. He was pronounced dead upon police arrival. No charges will be filed in connection with the man’s death.
A review of the evidence gathered by the West Hempfield Township Police Department and the Lancaster County Detective’s Office indicated that Burgos-Torres confronted two males outside the apartment complex in the early morning hours, demanded money, and forced the two males into an apartment by gunpoint.
Burgos-Torres then threatened the female resident by gunpoint, at which point one of the males attempted to take the gun from him and began a physical struggle. The second male then retrieved a gun from a nearby closet and shot Burgos-Torres numerous times killing him in defense of himself and others.
On Jan. 8, 2023, at 3:52 a.m., the West Hempfield Township Police Department was dispatched to the first block of Lincoln West Drive, Mountville, for a report of a burglary in progress. The police investigation revealed that two males were returning to the Lincoln West Drive residence after getting food at a Sheetz in the early morning hours. The two men were confronted by Burgos-Torres who held two guns outside of the apartment complex. Burgos-Torres had been residing with a female at a nearby apartment within the same apartment complex. Burgos-Torres patted both men down and took their cellular phones before forcing them inside the apartment into a bedroom by gunpoint.
The female resident of the apartment was present with a female guest and their young children when the three men came into the apartment. One of the victims of the robbery was able to silently tell the female visitor to call the police. The female resident of the apartment confronted Burgos-Torres and asked who he was, and he responded that he was an upstairs neighbor. The female visitor then saw the guns and called 911. The female resident then followed Burgos-Torres and the two men into the bedroom and confronted Burgos-Torres who then placed both guns under the female’s neck. At this point, the one male began a physical struggle with Burgos-Torres and attempted to take the weapons from him. That male was struck multiple times in the head by Burgos-Torres during the struggle.
While Burgos-Torres and the first male were struggling, the second male obtained an illegally possessed firearm from a closet and fired multiple shots at Burgos-Torres. The first male was able to grab a revolver from Burgos-Torres during the struggle and – after shots were fired by the second male – both males then left the apartment and were detained by arriving police.
Police entered the residence and discovered a deceased male, identified as Burgos-Torres, in the bedroom area with multiple gunshot wounds. Police found a 9mm handgun in Burgos-Torres’ right hand and recovered the revolver used by Burgos-Torres outside the residence.
The District Attorney’s Office reviewed the investigation and determined that the use of deadly force in this situation was legally justified as the male reasonably believed that deadly force was necessary to protect himself and others in the apartment from death or serious bodily injury. Statements and physical evidence gathered in the investigation supported the above determination.
Police also seized the firearm used in the killing that had been possessed by the male resident. Police discovered that the firearm had been reported stolen by its owner in 2017 out of Manheim Township. The male will be charged with Person Not to Possess a Firearm, Receiving Stolen Property and Possession with Intent to Deliver a quantity of marijuana that was seized during the investigation of the shooting at the Lincoln West Drive residence.
Information, a criminal complaint, or an arrest is not a declaration of guilt. A suspect, arrestee, or defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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