A lady’s estranged husband and 4 different males are dealing with special-circumstances homicide prices after police say they stalked her for weeks, deliberate her killing after which gunned her down outdoors a San Bernardino restaurant final month, authorities stated Tuesday.
Yesenia Torres, 44, and her husband Sergio Reveles, 53, had been within the midst of a contentious divorce that had dragged on for 2 years when police allege Reveles paid a bunch of males a big sum of money — approaching a whole bunch of hundreds of {dollars} — to kill her.
The couple owned a number of companies throughout Southern California with belongings price thousands and thousands of {dollars}, San Bernardino Police Det. Dominick Martinez stated at a information convention Tuesday morning.
5 males had been charged with homicide within the killing of Yesenia Torres, 44, in January.
(Hannah Fry / Los Angeles Occasions)
But it surely took detectives roughly a month to completely untangle the case, which at first might need appeared as a easy theft gone mistaken.
Torres was leaving Burger Level on West Mill Avenue simply after midday on Jan. 10 when a Ford Escape SUV pulled up behind her silver Mercedes SUV. A person armed with a gun, recognized by police as 31-year-old Gerardo Llamas, approached her as she acquired into the driving force’s seat of her automotive, surveillance video exhibits.
“This brazen attack happened in broad daylight, in full view of patrons and employees who were working at the restaurant,” stated San Bernardino Police Chief Darren Goodman.
After a quick dialog with Torres, Llamas grabbed her purse and tried to shoot her. Torres tried to combat again and seize the gun, and a battle ensued, however Llamas maintained management of the firearm, in keeping with police and video footage.
At one level within the scuffle, a patron ran out of the restaurant to assist Torres, however rapidly retreated amid gunfire. Llamas chased Torres across the Mercedes whereas firing the gun at her. Ultimately, she tried to run again contained in the restaurant and was fatally wounded. A complete of 9 rounds had been fired within the assault, Martinez stated.
Police discovered her unresponsive within the doorway of the restaurant, the place she was later pronounced useless.
A witness gave police early clues within the case: the license plate quantity and descriptions of the automobile and the suspects who had fled, Martinez stated. Investigators additionally obtained surveillance video displaying the assault, which Martinez stated had “assisted greatly in the investigation.”
Police later discovered the Ford Escape deserted in a Walmart car parking zone in San Bernardino. Llamas and the getaway driver, recognized by police as Arnoldo Ruelas, 54, acquired into one other automobile after which made their approach right into a enterprise, which they fled after altering their clothes, Martinez stated.
“There was always one thing we asked ourselves: What’s the link between the victim and our two suspects?” Martinez stated.
Martinez stated police discovered proof contained in the Ford SUV that led them to extra suspects within the case. Authorities didn’t element the proof that was discovered.
Detectives decided that Arnoldo Ruelas’ brother Reynaldo Ruelas, 37, together with Juan Perez, 42, who ran one of many couple’s companies, Sergio’s Pallets in San Bernardino, had been linked to the killing. Reynaldo Ruelas labored for Perez on the pallet enterprise, Martinez stated.
Whereas serving search warrants on a number of companies and residences linked to the suspects, police discovered greater than $200,000 in money and “numerous” firearms, Martinez stated.
Llamas, Arnoldo and Reynaldo Ruelas, Juan Perez and the sufferer’s estranged husband, Reveles, are dealing with homicide prices with particular circumstances for allegations of mendacity in wait, homicide for monetary achieve and theft throughout homicide, in keeping with prosecutors and court docket data.
The boys are in custody and couldn’t instantly be reached for remark; attorneys had but to be assigned to the suspects as of Tuesday afternoon.
If convicted, they every face most sentences of life in jail with out the potential for parole.
The police investigation was an “unbelievably tireless effort,” stated San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Jason Anderson.
“You could sense all along that there had to be more to the story,” he stated. “The tragedy and travesty of having an individual that was essentially assassinated at one of her favorite eateries in San Bernardino — it’s a very, very sad case.”
