Brothers face murder charges in San Leandro marijuana robbery
A bag with cannabis flowers in the trimming area of a Cresco Labs Inc. facility in Indiantown, Florida, U.S., on Monday, March 28, 2022. Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images
SAN LEANDRO, Calif. - Two siblings were charged with murder in a botched marijuana robbery in San Leandro that left a man dead, authorities said.
Mauricio Moreno, 28, and Erik Moreno, 18, both of Hayward, are accused by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office in the shooting death of Anderson Choy, 53, on May 5.
The incident occurred on Benedict Drive as Choy backed his Toyota minivan into his driveway around 6:21 p.m., police said.
Surveillance footage showed a Toyota Corolla pulling in front of Choy's vehicle, partly blocking it. A passenger, later identified as Erick Moreno, 18, was seen exiting the Corolla with an AR-15 and yelling at Choy to "get out." Mauricio Moreno is then alleged to have approached Choy's vehicle and fired a gun, striking Choy in the neck.
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Choy was found dead at the wheel of his minivan, which had crashed into a tree across the street.
The brothers left the scene, and the suspect vehicle was found burned on Mountain Boulevard in the Oakland Hills two days later, police said.
The vehicle, which belonged to the suspects' mother, had been reported stolen an hour after Choy's killing, which detectives found suspicious. That's one of the ways detectives connected the Morenos to the crime, authorities said.
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Investigators believe the siblings followed Choy from a Hayward marijuana grow facility, intending to rob him of marijuana and cash, both of which were found in Choy's minivan after the shooting. Three trash bags with marijuana inside were recovered from his car, and a makeshift marijuana grow area was found in Choy's home.
The brothers were charged with murder in the case.
Mauricio Moreno is also a suspect in a separate armed robbery in Union City, according to investigators.