Authorities say they have gathered enough evidence to attest that the fatal shooting of a California businesswoman wasn’t a tragically random occurrence, but was part of a calculated murder-for-hire plot coordinated by her husband.
Now, 53-year-old Sergio Reveles and the four men he allegedly enlisted to kill his 44-year-old wife, Yesenia “Jessica” Torres, all face murder charges for the scheme, KCAL reported.
“Definitely a murder-for-hire case. There is evidence to show that the suspects did stalk our victim for several days and months prior to this murder,” said Detective Dominick Martinez with the San Bernardino Police Department.
Torres was shot to death on Jan. 10 in a restaurant parking lot in San Bernardino in broad daylight, police say.
Security video showed the moments a car pulled up next to Torres as she left the restaurant, and an armed man got out and started chasing Torres around her SUV and through the lot.
Torres tried to fight the suspect off and a good Samaritan also tried to intervene to no avail. As Torres tried to run away, the gunman opened fire, striking her several times.
“Chasing her around the vehicle, firing multiple times at her. Unfortunately, she was struck, slowed her down, and the suspect again shot her an additional time with a fatal wound,” Martinez said.
The shocking video drew thousands of reactions on ABC7’s YouTube page. One person wrote, “He didn’t want to lose his money in a divorce so he paid hundreds of thousands to end up in prison. 🤦♂️ People need therapy and to learn how to make better choices.”
Another added, “This is disgusting.”
The armed man was later identified as 31-year-old Gerardo Llamas, who was arrested on Jan. 16. Police also arrested the getaway driver, 37-year-old Reynaldo Ruelas, and his brother Arnoldo, who is alleged to have served as an intermediary between the hired shooters and Sergio Reveles.
Llamas and brothers Arnoldo and Reynaldo Ruelas were arrested on Jan. 16.
During their investigation, police executed search warrants for Revelez and 42-year-old Juan Perez, who ran a pallet company owned by Torres and her husband. Investigators seized more than $286,000 in cash and multiple firearms they believe are connected to the murder plot.
Revelez and Perez were finally arrested on Feb. 13.
Prosecutors have charged all five men with murder under three special circumstances, which include lying in wait, financial gain, and crime committed in the commission of a robbery.
Detectives said they learned the murder stemmed from a “contentious divorce” between Torres and Reveles who had been clashing over the division of multi-million-dollar assets.
