Former Guam police officer Mark Torre Jr. will continue to remain out of prison pending an appeal, according to court documents released yesterday afternoon.

Torre Jr., who was sentenced to eight years for the shooting death of fellow Guam Police Department officer Elbert Piolo, was to report to the Department of Corrections yesterday, but Judge Michael Bordallo of the Superior Court of Guam issued a decision allowing Torre to remain outside of prison, for now.

Torre was allowed to remain under house arrest pending the appeal of either the verdict or the sentence.

Bordallo's decision was issued yesterday afternoon following a closed-door meeting with attorneys from both sides earlier that morning.

Bordallo did deny another request by Torre to be acquitted.

Torre was sentenced last month after a jury found him guilty in March of negligent homicide and aggravated assault as a third-degree felony, both with the special allegation of the use of a deadly weapon in the commission of those felonies, in connection with the shooting death of Piolo in July 2015.

Court documents state Bordallo granted Torre's motion for release largely because Torre "has complied with all the conditions of his pre-trial release and incurred no violations during (that) two-year period."

Bordallo's decision further states there has been "no evidence that (Torre) is a flight risk and poses a danger to the community."

However, court documents also state Torre may still have to surrender to DOC later if he does violate court orders or if, once defense files an appeal, the government believes the appeal "is frivolous or made for the purpose of delay."

Piolo family disappointed

Until any such development, court documents state parties from both sides will convene for an evidentiary hearing for restitution on July 26.

Elbert Piolo's widow, Mika Piolo, told The Guam Daily Post the family was upset about the news that Torre would not begin serving his prison sentence, but that the family has gotten used to such disappointments because they "always get sad news."

"We continue to pray that Torre will go to prison and that he will stop delaying the inevitable," Mika Piolo said. "He needs to serve his time in prison."

She added that over the course of Torre's trial, she has lost some faith in the justice system.

"We were glad that (Torre) was sentenced to at least some time in jail, but it's not enough," she said.

Mika Piolo told the Post she and other family members marked the second anniversary of her husband's death just this past Thursday.