OAKLAND — A former fugitive has pleaded no contest to a lesser offense in reference to a 2022 armored truck theft the place a safety guard was shot at the back of the top and killed.
Artemio Torres, 28, pleaded no contest to accent in alternate for prosecutors dropping a theft cost towards him. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in October to a two-year probation time period and to time he has already served in jail, courtroom data present.
Torres’ co-defendant, Akbar Bey, stays in jail and is going through prices of murdering 60-year-old John Mendez through the Sept. 7, 2022 theft. Prosecutors say Bey shot Mendez through the again of the top earlier than stepping into Torres’ automobile and fleeing.
Each Bey and Torres have been former workers of the truck firm GardaWorld, and allegedly deliberate to rob it as guards made a drop off at a Kaiser constructing in San Leandro. Bey and Mendez had been companions when Bey was employed there. Authorities say Bey and Torres have been fired after being accused of embezzling cash.
Bey was arrested quickly after the capturing, however Torres remained on the lam for greater than a yr after fleeing the state, police mentioned. He was arrested on a theft warrant final June, and agreed to plead no contest on Aug. 16, data present.
Initially Printed: September 17, 2024 at 1:02 p.m.
