Fresno man faces hearing after knife threat at city attorney's home

Larry Torrez was set to face a July 17 hearing in Fresno County Superior Court after prosecutors accused him of showing up at Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz’s county-island home early Sunday morning with a knife. The incident unfolded around 3:30 a.m. and quickly escalated from a doorbell ring into a confrontation that raised immediate security concerns for Janz’s family and for local elected officials.

Surveillance video showed a man approaching the residence carrying a knife, then later jumping a fence into the backyard while Janz’s family was inside. Janz said he had retrieved his gun and was ready to use it. Deputies arrested 56-year-old Torrez at the home, and he was booked into the Fresno County Jail.

Torrez appeared in court for arraignment Wednesday and pleaded not guilty through his attorney to attempted first-degree burglary and trespassing. Prosecutors also said he was found in possession of a knife. The case moved quickly through the courts, putting Torrez on a path toward the July 17 hearing.

Court reporting said Torrez was described as a parolee, and one filing said he had already been found mentally fit to stand trial. That procedural step left the case positioned for the next round of court action as Fresno officials tracked what prosecutors say was a direct threat at the private home of one of the city’s top legal officers.

The details of the case have made it stand out in Fresno County because the alleged intrusion did not happen at City Hall or in a public meeting room, but at Janz’s family home in a county-island area. With a knife involved, a fence reportedly crossed, and children and family members inside, the incident became more than a trespassing allegation and turned into a test of how quickly law enforcement and the courts respond when a public servant’s home is involved.