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Gilbert Police submit charges in sheriff's family's deaths

Posted 2/24/23

The Gilbert Police Department submitted charges to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office related to the December collision that killed family members of Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, …

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Police

Gilbert Police submit charges in sheriff's family's deaths

Posted

The Gilbert Police Department submitted charges to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office related to the December collision that killed family members of Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, police said. 

Brian Alexander Torres, 21, was charged with three counts of manslaughter, a class 2 felony, according to a statement from Gilbert police spokesperson Brenda Carrasco. 

The police investigation revealed on the afternoon of Dec. 16, Torres was traveling westbound on East Elliot Road in a Chevrolet Silverado when he struck a maroon Toyota Corolla as it attempted to turn left from eastbound Elliot Road onto north Cole Drive, Carrasco said. 

The Toyota was driven by 20-year-old Caroline Patten and was occupied by 22-year-old Cooper Lamb in the front passenger seat and their 11-month-old infant daughter in a car seat located in the rear passenger seat. Cooper Lamb and his daughter were pronounced dead on-scene, and Patten died from her injuries six days later. 

Through the analysis of evidence collected in the investigation, it was learned that Torres was traveling at a high rate of speed on Elliot Road at the time of the collision with speeds estimated between 67 and 71 miles per hour in the posted 45 mile per hour zone, Carrasco said. 

Blood samples collected and subsequently analyzed revealed that Torres’ blood alcohol content was .03 and tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, was detected in his blood, Carrasco said. THC is the psychoactive substance found in cannabis.