Five men are behind bars in connection with the brazen daytime shooting of an affluent San Bernardino businesswoman in a fast- food restaurant parking lot that authorities described Tuesday as an alleged murder-for-hire over a contentious divorce.
Yesenia “Jessica” Torres, 44, of Highland was fatally shot outside the Burger Point restaurant, at 444 W. Mill St., about 11:45 a.m. on Jan. 10. She and her husband, Sergio Reveles, owned commercial real estate throughout Southern California, including a pallet company and medical office in San Bernardino, and had assets in the millions of dollars, police said.
Now, Reveles, a 53-year-old Yucaipa resident, is one of five suspects charged with first-degree murder in connection with his wife’s death. Also charged are Gerardo Llamas Torres, 31, of Bakersfield, who is of no relation to Yesenia Torres; Arnaldo Ruelas, 54, of Los Angeles; his brother, Reynaldo Ruelas, 37, also of Los Angeles; and Juan Perez, 42, of Riverside.
During a news conference Tuesday, Feb. 18, at the San Bernardino Police Department, District Attorney Jason Anderson said all five men have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. They also face special circumstances allegations of lying in wait, murder for financial gain and murder committed during the commission of a robbery that make them eligible for the death penalty.
The defendants are currently being held without bail and will next appear in court on March 14 for a bail hearing.
Torres’ death came as a shock to the local business community. Police Chief Darren Goodman said she was “well-known and well-respected by many throughout the community.”
“She was very civically engaged and supported numerous endeavors throughout the city,” Goodman said. “This brazen attack happened in broad daylight, in full view of patrons and employees who were working at the restaurant.
He said investigators quickly developed leads that ultimately identified and led to the arrests of the five men who allegedly orchestrated the killing.
A security video from the restaurant, played at the news conference by Detective Dominick Martinez, captured the horrifying last moments of Torres’ life.
Torres was seen leaving the restaurant about 11:45 a.m. and walking to her Mercedes-Benz SUV. A dark-colored Ford Escape, parked in a stall between the drive-thru entrance and a dumpster enclosure, moved forward as Torres approached her vehicle. The vehicle stopped in front of Torres’ parked vehicle, and a man police suspect was Llamas Torres got out of the front passenger side and approached Torres as she got into her vehicle.
Torres’ killer pointed a handgun, equipped with a silencer, at her and took her purse. Torres grabbed for the gun and tried to wrest it from her assailant’s hand as the two engaged in a struggle in the parking lot. A man leaving the restaurant tried to come to Torres’ aid, but then turned and ran back inside when Torres’ assailant pointed the gun at him.
Torres ran around her vehicle, frantically trying to evade her assailant, who Martinez said fired a total of nine shots at her. Torres can be seen trying to run back inside the restaurant when the video ended.
“The victim does make an attempt to run inside the business for safety, but, unfortunately, she was struck, it slowed her down, and the suspect again shot her an additional time with a fatal wound,” Martinez said. He said when officers arrived on scene, they found Torres lying dead in the doorway of the restaurant.
Police believe the alleged murder-for-hire plot was staged to look like a robbery. Investigators later learned that Llamas Torres and the driver of the Ford Escape, identified as Arnaldo Ruelas, had been surveilling and stalking Torres for months, and had followed her that morning from her residence to a business and then to Burger Point, Martinez said.
Within four hours of the killing, Martinez said, they had identified Llamas Torres and Arnaldo Ruelas as the alleged shooter and driver of the vehicle used in the crime. A witness provided police the license plate number and a description of the Ford Escape, which was found abandoned in a Walmart parking lot on the east side of San Bernardino. Investigators learned the two men switched vehicles and changed their clothing after the shooting.
In the month that followed, investigators with the FBI’s Inland Regional Apprehension Team, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the Bakersfield Police Department Violent Criminal Apprehension Team, and the California Highway Patrol all assisted in identifying the three other suspects.
On Jan. 16, investigators arrested Llamas Torres and Arnaldo Ruelas. On Feb 13, they arrested Reveles, Perez and Reynaldo Ruelas.
Martinez said police linked the five suspects to Torres through her and her husband’s pallet company, Sergio’s Pallets. Reynaldo Ruelas works at the pallet yard, which is managed by Juan Perez. Arnaldo Ruelas is Reynaldo Ruelas’ brother, and Arnaldo Ruelas knew Llamas Torres and allegedly brought him in on the plan.
During a search of the suspects’ residences, cash totaling more than $200,000 and several firearms were seized, police said.
Goodman said the crime was an isolated incident.
“I understand full well that when incidents like this occur, it brings a lot of fear and concern for personal safety,” the chief said. “There was never a general threat to the community, as we learned very quickly that these criminals targeted this victim in a murder-for-hire scheme that was stemming from a contentious divorce from one of the suspects, Sergio Reveles,” Goodman said.
Anderson commended Goodman and his team of investigators and everyone else who worked on the case for their efforts in bringing it to a quick close.
“You could sense all along that there had to be more to the story. We believe that we have encapsulated the entire story,” Anderson said.