Archive
Five people sent to prison in murder of security officer www.privateofficer.com
Albert Rodriguez, 59, was beaten to death with tree limbs and a board while he was making his rounds at a central Fresno apartment complex in 2009.
Rodriguez had found Tony Sayachack, 23, and four teenagers drinking beer inside a vacant unit.
He told them to get out.
All five admitted attacking Rodriguez, who was not armed and not in uniform.
They faced murder charges and possible life in prison when they pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter.
A judge sent them to prison for 11 years.
Fresno police arrest 5 persons for security officer murder www.privateofficer.com
Police say the five suspects were drinking beer in a vacant apartment when the security guard tried to break up their party. But that’s not when they attacked Rodriguez. At first, they left the apartment and it looked like that was the end of it. But homicide detectives say the four teenagers all lived in the apartment complex and they didn’t go away.
Rodriguez continued his nighttime patrol and a little while later; the suspects ambushed him, beating him to death with sticks and wooden boards.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said, “Rodriguez was not armed and we are not certain whether he had any opportunity to defend himself. It appears these individuals attacked him — whether from the front or behind — but it appeared it was a sudden attack.”
Action News talked to witnesses on the scene the next day and they said the beating was so brutal, it sounded like a construction project.
Police arrested 22-year-old Tony Sayachack over the weekend. They arrested his younger brother, a younger cousin, and two other teenagers Tuesday. Police say none of the suspects has any prior criminal history and they don’t have any gang affiliations either. But they say the suspects acted with a gang mentality. They’re all facing murder charges now.
Join Us At MySpace/privateofficernews
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Fresno security officer murdered www.privateofficer.com
Fresno Police are investigating the murder of an apartment complex security guard with an unusual weapon. Coroners say the guys who killed 59-year-old Albert Rodriguez beat him to death with a tree branch.
Rodriguez was well known as a security guard at the Summerset Village complex on Weldon near Fresno in Central Fresno, but he didn’t wear a uniform, so the killers may not have known who they were attacking.
Rodriguez’s reserved parking spot was empty Friday and there are few signs of the struggle that killed him, just a few leftover pieces of police crime scene tape. But impressions from the beating are burned into the memory of some neighbors.
“I heard something like beating on something, like a wood being hit on something and I was sure they were just doing construction,” said eyewitness Lydia Joachin.
Police say Rodriguez was walking around the complex when he ran into trouble.
“About 30 minutes before we got called out, Rodriguez called his manager to say he was going to contact a group of youths who were causing trouble,” said Lt. Tony Bennink of the Fresno Police Department.
Police don’t know how many suspects there were, but they beat Rodriguez with whatever they found on the scene. By the time police arrived, the suspects had scattered and officers checked the apartment for clues.
“They came into my apartment to see if nobody was hidden here,” said Joachin. “They were doing that to all the apartments right here.”
Neighbors say they’re scared now because of what happened and because the man they leaned on for their safety is gone.
“He was a really good worker,” said Joachin. “He really looked out for the people he was protecting.”
Rodriguez leaves behind a wife and two kids, according to police. He was the 39th homicide victim in Fresno this year, two more than at this time last year.
