A 32-year-old Apache Junction man is facing eight felony charges after police say he confronted his 18-year-old neighbor at gunpoint, forced her into his vehicle, and held her for several hours while assaulting her multiple times before letting her go. Pedro Espinoza Torres was arrested September 25, a day after the attack, and investigators say the suspect lived just four houses away from his victim.
According to an official statement from the City of Apache Junction, the abduction happened around 1 a.m. on September 24 near 16th Avenue and San Marcos Drive as the teenager was arriving home from work. Police say Torres confronted her with a gun, forced her into his vehicle, and held her against her will for hours while assaulting her repeatedly before releasing her, the city said.
Police allege that after the badly injured teen sought treatment at a local hospital, Apache Junction detectives reviewed neighborhood surveillance footage and used Automated License Plate Reader technology to trace the suspect's vehicle back to Torres' home, which sat just four houses down from the victim's, according to FOX 10 Phoenix. The station, which also posted video coverage of the arrest, reported the case under the headline “Apache Junction police detail harrowing kidnapping of teen neighbor held for hours,” with reporting from Megan Spector.
Eight Felony Counts Filed in Pinal County
The Pinal County Attorney's Office has filed eight felony charges against Torres, including one count of kidnapping, four counts of aggravated assault, two counts of sexual abuse and one count of first-degree burglary, the city said. He was booked into the Pinal County Adult Detention Center following his arrest, and detectives continue investigating potential related cases, per the same city statement.
Under Arizona law, most kidnapping offenses are Class 2 felonies punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison, according to the Shouse Law Group. The charges against Torres remain allegations at this stage, and nothing has been proven in court.
Police Seek Potential Additional Victims
Apache Junction Police have publicly released Torres' physical description — 5-foot-9, 250 pounds, with brown eyes and a neck tattoo — along with images of his gold and yellow 2014 Jeep Wrangler, hoping the public can help identify any additional potential victims, according to 12News KPNX. Police also describe his hair as black with red coloring. Police say they do not know whether Torres had done anything similar before and are asking the public for information about potentially related incidents.
The case arrives amid renewed local attention on how Apache Junction police use license plate reader technology. In August, Hoodline reported that the department launched an internal investigation after an officer allegedly misused the same ALPR system to track down a family member — a contrast to its role here in rapidly identifying a suspect living on the victim's own street.
Pinal County's History With Severe Sentences
Pinal County courts have handed down lengthy sentences in comparable cases before. In July 2024, Hoodline reported that the Pinal County Superior Court sentenced a defendant to 95 years in prison following convictions on Class 2 felony kidnapping and sexual assault charges involving a female victim held at a Pinal County residence. That case offers a judicial benchmark for how the county has handled similarly serious felony convictions in the past, though Torres' case has not yet gone to trial.
The allegations against Torres follow another violent case that shook the same community just weeks earlier. In August, Hoodline reported that a 37-year-old Apache Junction resident was charged with aggravated assault after a SWAT standoff tied to the shooting of her neighbor, underscoring a string of serious neighbor-on-neighbor violence the city has faced in recent months.
