Shocking surveillance footage captured the moment a successful California businesswoman was gunned down and killed in broad daylight outside a restaurant.
Yessenia Torres, 44, was pronounced dead in the doorway of Burger Point in San Bernardino on January 10 in what police now say was a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by her estranged husband Sergio Reveles, 53.
The two had been in the middle of a contentious divorce, which dragged on for two years, when Reveles allegedly hired four men to kill his wife, detectives said at a news conference on Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Details about the plot remain unclear, but Detective Dominic Martinez said, ‘There is evidence to show that the suspects did stalk our victims for several days and months prior to this murder,’ KCAL reports.
Finally, just after noon on January 10, Torres was spotted exiting Burger Point and getting into her Mercedes SUV when a Ford Escape pulls up behind her.
A gunman, who was later identified as Geraldo Llamas-Torres, 31, could then be seen approaching Torres as she climbed into the driver’s seat.
At that point, Torres gets out of her vehicle, and a struggle ensues when she hits Llamas-Torres with her purse and tries to grab the gun.
Soon, a good Samaritan runs out of the restaurant to help Torres, but when Llamas-Torres opened fire, he ran back inside.
Yessenia Torres, 44, was pronounced dead in the doorway of Burger Point in San Bernardino on January 10 (credit San Bernadino Police Department)
Surveillance footage showed a suspect – later identified as Geraldo Llamas-Torres, 31 – approaching Torres as she got into her vehicle. She then got out of her car, and a struggle ensues when she hits Llamas-Torres with her purse and tries to grab the gun
The gunman proceeded to chase Torres around her vehicle several times, before Torres tried to run back inside the restaurant
The gunman then proceeded to chase Torres around her vehicle several times, before Torres tried to run back inside the restaurant.
But she was already struck at that point, which slowed her down and enabled Llamas-Torres to deliver the fatal shot.
A total of nine rounds were fired during the chase, Martinez said.
‘This brazen attack happened in broad daylight, in full view of patrons and employees who were working at the restaurant,’ Police Chief Darren Goodman said.
Fortunately, an eyewitness identified the license plate of the Llamas-Torres’ and his getaway driver Arnoldo Ruelas’ Ford Escape, which police said they later found abandoned in a Walmart parking lot, according to ABC 7.
‘The suspects then got into a second vehicle, which was located at another business,’ Martinez said at the news conference on Tuesday.
‘There, we saw that the suspects had changed their clothing and went inside a business for a short amount of time, and got in the vehicle and fled the area.’
Llamas-Torres and Ruelas, 54, were then arrested on January 16 after multiple agencies conducted search warrants across Los Angeles and Bakersfield.
Police say the shooting death was orchestrated by Torres’ estranged husband, Segio Reveles, 53
At one point a good Samaritan tried to intervene, but fled as Llamas-Torres opened fire
Upon their arrest, police uncovered evidence linking both suspects to the murder – including a large sum of cash.
But authorities believed there was more to the story than the apparent robbery.
‘There was always one thing we asked ourselves: What’s the link between the victim and our two suspects?’ Martinez said.
Following that line of inquiry, detectives were able to determine that Ruelas’ brother, Reynaldo Ruelas, 37, worked at a property owned by the victim and her estranged husband, Reveles.
Police now say Reynaldo served as an intermediary between Reveles and his business partner Juan Perez, 42, who ran a pallet company on property the couple owned.
Reveles and Perez were then taken into custody on February 6, when investigators seized more than $286,000 in cash and multiple firearms.
An eyewitness identified the license plate of the Llamas-Torres’ and his getaway driver Arnoldo Ruelas’ Ford Escape, which police said they later found abandoned in a Walmart parking lot
Also arrested in the murder-for-hire scheme were Reynaldo Ruelas, 37, and Juan Perez, 42
All five suspects are now charged with murder, as well as special circumstances for robbery, financial gain and lying-in-wait.
They have all pleaded not guilty and are being held without bail ahead of their pre-preliminary court hearing on March 14.