Man charged in weekend shooting

Published 12:06 am Tuesday, May 3, 2011

A Cuban man in the U.S. on a work visa who led local law enforcement authorities on a day-long manhunt was found behind businesses on East Three Notch Street late Saturday, and has been charged with kidnapping and attempted murder.

Del Torro

The man, Raul Mariano Del Torro, is accused of shooting his estranged girlfriend from Andalusia three times Saturday morning.

On Monday, Andalusia Police Department officers were combing the crime scene looking for the weapon used in the shooting of an unidentified 49-year-old white female.

Lt. Paul Dean said the report came in at 7:45 a.m. Saturday of a shooting behind Ashley Furniture Store. When units responded, they found a woman with multiple gunshot wounds, he said.

“Our preliminary investigation indicates this shooting began as a domestic incident late Thursday evening, continued through the night, leading up to Saturday’s shooting,” Dean said.

“Sgt. Lamar Stokes with the Covington County Sheriff’s Office was first on scene and was able to obtain information from the victim that the shooter, who was identified as 51-year-old Raul Mariano Del Torro, had fled on foot and was armed,” Dean said.

Dean said Del Torro then became the subject of an “extensive manhunt” and was located some eight hours later behind the Alabama Department of Transportation office, near Church’s Chicken.

He said CCSO deputy Kevin Norris spotted Del Torro near the Dollar Tree on East 3 Notch at approximately 4:30 p.m., and he was soon apprehended without incident.

The identity of Del Torro’s alleged victim is not being released, as the investigation is ongoing, he said.

“I can say that we do expect that Del Torro will be facing more charges in the coming days,” he said.

Del Torro is currently being held in the Covington County Jail under a $1 million bond.

The shooting victim was transported to Andalusia Regional Hospital, where she remains in the intensive care unit.