San Leandro police: Man confesses to killing armored truck guard he previously worked with

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. (KGO) -- Police say the man suspected of murdering and robbing an armored truck security guard he worked with has confessed to the crime.

60-year-old John Mendez was a military veteran described as having an infectious personality by his family on the GoFundMe page they made last month. He was shot and killed working as an armored truck security guard for GardaWorld in September on Kaiser Hospital's campus in San Leandro. His truck was also robbed.

PREVIOUS REPORT: 1 injured in shooting and armored car heist at San Leandro Kaiser, police say; suspect at large

"There's a gross lack of respect for humanity and this guy died doing his job for probably a few thousand dollars," said former San Jose police officer and security consultant Michael Leininger.

On Thursday, San Leandro police confirmed that suspected gunman Akbar Bey is behind bars and will face a murder charge. As for how the arrest was made - investigators received information from the security company that Bey had previously worked for them, in fact he worked with the victim for five days and was familiar with the route. That's according to court documents that also say Bey and another man "were terminated for stealing money from the company."

With the help of the surveillance video, phone records, and the FBI, police tracked Bey to his home in Oakland through an associate of his that he was believed to have been with during the killing and robbery.

Court documents show he was in possession of a Gold 2004 Porsche. Management from the security company stated to investigators, "It was suspicious that Bey now had a Porsche and cell phone after money was stolen during this robbery and homicide."

On Wednesday, a search warrant was served on Bey's residence in Oakland. A short time later, police say Bey gave a full confession. During the search, detectives located evidence inside of Bey's residence that they say was used during the robbery.

"But again you're looking at potentially two or three people involved in this. They took a humans life for no valid reason whatsoever," said Leininger.

This case has links to San Leandro, Oakland, and Vacaville. Police are seeking additional suspects, accomplices, and witnesses. That former officer we talked with said credit should be given to the San Leandro Police Department for getting that confession and getting it quickly.

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