Family of slain Home Depot security guard says suspects' plea deal is what they wanted

ByRyan Curry KGO logo
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Suspects in fatal Home Depot security guard accept plea deal
Suspects in fatal Home Depot security guard accept plea dealDavid Guillory and Benicia Knapps accused of killing Home Depot security guard Blake Mohls have taken a plea deal.

PLEASANTON, Calif. (KGO) -- Two people have pleaded no contest to killing a Home Depot security guard in April of last year.

David Guillory and Benicia Knapps were shoplifting from the Pleasanton Home Depot when Blake Mohs tried to stop them. A confrontation broke out and Kapps pulled out a gun and fatally shot Mohs.

EXCLUSIVE: Parents of East Bay Home Depot shooting victim remember their beloved son

Parents of Blake Mohs share memories about their beloved son who was killed in a shooting during an attempted shoplifting at an Pleasanton Home Depot.

Attorneys for Guillory and Knapps reached an agreement with the Mohs family and the deputy district attorney for Alameda County.

"The biggest burden you can carry, that dropped for me," said Lorie Mohs, Blake's mother.

Knapps faces 19 years to life in prison for second-degree murder. Guillory faces seven years for child endangerment and accessory charges. Both of them could have faced longer sentences, but the Mohs family did not want this to go to trial.

"They would cloth a manikin in my son's clothes," Lorie said. "With all the blood and then they would play by play every single scene over and over of his murder."

A scene the family did not want to relive. Plus, the Mohs family believes Blake's killers deserve a second chance. They hope their sentences allow them time to reconcile.

RELATED: Man dies after being shot trying to stop theft at Pleasanton Home Depot, coroner confirms

"I would like to see them work on themselves in jail," Lorie said. "Find skills. Do something with your time that is going to change your life and your children's life out here."

This agreement means Lori and he family don't have to spend more time in court fighting for justice for her son. She says they can focus now on ways to honor and remember Blake.

"The joy that it brought us yesterday to walk into Home Depot to that crew and tell them they didn't have to testify and the relief, and the joy to be able to text my family and say guess what it's done," Lorie said. "He is smiling. He is so proud."

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