Body-cam video captures arrest of suspected shooter in San Bernardino murder-for-hire plot
By: -----
Bakersfield, CA - The Bakersfield Police Department released body cam footage for an arrest in connection with a murder-for-hire plot of 44-year-old Yesenia Torres in January 2025 in San Bernardino.
As seen in the footage, BPD officers assisted San Bernardino police (SBPD) in apprehending one of the five suspects in Bakersfield on January 16.
SBPD said on January 10, 2025, at around 11:49 a.m., officers were called to reports of a shooting in the 400 block of West Mill Street in San Bernardino. When officers arrived, they found a woman, later identified as Yesenia Torres, dead at the scene.
Surveillance video shows Torres fighting back before trying to run inside the restaurant. She died at the doorway.
Police said through witness accounts and surveillance video, detectives quickly identified two primary suspects the suspected shooter, 31-year-old Gerardo Llamas-Torres, and the getaway driver, 54-year-old Arnoldo Ruelas.
San Bernardino police reported that on January 16, 2025, their SWAT team, homicide detectives, and undercover task force officers, in collaboration with the Bakersfield Violent Criminal Apprehension Team, executed multiple search warrants in Los Angeles and Bakersfield.
Bakersfield police released video on Llamas-Torres' arrest.
Both Llamas-Torres and Ruelas were taken into custody, with evidence linking them to the murder, including a large sum of money. Ruelas was apprehended in Los Angeles.
Further investigation revealed a deeper conspiracy, police said. They identified 37-year-old Reynaldo Ruelas, Arnoldo’s younger brother, as an intermediary between the hired shooters and 53-year-old Sergio Reveles, the victim’s estranged husband, along with 42-year-old Juan Perez, Reveles’ business partner. Detectives determined that the murder had been planned for over a year, motivated by a contentious divorce and a dispute over multi-million-dollar assets between Torres and Reveles.
On February 6, 2025, the San Bernardino Police Department, in coordination with the FBI, California Highway Patrol, San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, and Riverside Sheriff’s Department, conducted a seven-location operation in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Search warrants were executed at the homes and business properties of both Reveles and Perez. Police reported that investigators seized over $286,000 in cash and multiple firearms during the operation.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office formally charged the suspects: Sergio Reveles, Juan Perez, Reynaldo Ruelas, Arnoldo Ruelas, and Llamas-Torres. They face additional charges of robbery, financial gain, and lying in wait, according to police.
All five defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges during their arraignment and are currently held without bail. The investigation into the case remains ongoing.