SAN LEANDRO — Two brothers from Hayward are facing murder charges after they allegedly followed a local resident home and attempted to rob him of marijuana and cash, then shot him in the neck after he resisted, court records show.
The case is based on layers of evidence — their mother’s car was used in the crime, and cellphone records allegedly place both brothers at the scene of where the vehicle was later torched, for instance. But the final piece came after San Leandro police arrested 28-year-old Mauricio Moreno and 19-year-old Erick Moreno on suspicion of murder last September.
Placed in a separate interrogation room from his brother, police say Erick Moreno cracked. The then-18-year-old allegedly told investigators that he was the driver when they went to rob 53-year-old Anderson Choy at his San Leandro home last May, and that his brother, Mauricio, was the one who shot Choy in the neck.
The brothers were following Choy from a Hayward marijuana grow house that evening based on a tip from one of Mauricio’s friends, Erick allegedly told detectives. He said he didn’t know the man well, but that the brothers were assured by the tipster there would be cannabis and cash at the home, according to court records.
It turns out the tipster knew what he was talking about. Choy’s home had cash inside, as well as multiple garbage bags full of processed cannabis flowers, along with two of Choy’s sons who suspiciously claimed to have no idea what their father did for a living, according to authorities.
The sons weren’t the only ones in this investigation to make dubious claims about family members. Police say that hours after Choy was fatally shot, the Moreno brothers’ mother called police to report that her red Toyota Corolla had been stolen from outside their Hayward home. The woman claimed she had no idea who could’ve taken it, and police say it seemed like an almost perfect crime — no broken glass or signs of a forced entry into the car were found at the scene.
But the Corolla was seen on surveillance footage at the 1800 block of Benedict Drive in San Leandro, moments after Choy pulled into his home in a red minivan. The footage shows a passenger from the Corolla run out and accost Choy, who apparently resisted the robbery. The driver of the Corolla also exited, and when the minivan lurched forward in an escape attempt, one of the two robbers allegedly fired a shot through the passenger window, striking Choy, who crashed the minivan into a tree, according to authorities.
The two robbers then fled the area. The Morenos’ mother called the Corolla in stolen roughly two hours later. The next day, the car was found nearly burnt to a crisp on Mountain Boulevard in Oakland, authorities said.
It turns out the Corolla was quite the target for thieves. Back in November 2023, Hayward police called the Morenos’ mother to ask about her car being used in a high-speed police chase in Ripon that day. When the officers contacted her, she reportedly told them her car had been stolen earlier in the day, but police say Mauricio Moreno was seen on surveillance footage at a Love’s gas station near where the Ripon chase occurred a short time beforehand.
Another car registered to Erick and Mauricio Moreno’s mother — a Honda Accord — was seen at a Union City robbery that occurred in late August, according to police. In that case, four robbers allegedly ran up to a local resident as he was coming home, forced entry into the residence and made off with about $12,000 in cash and jewelry. The same Honda was spotted at a 2023 home invasion in Campbell, where robbers made off with an estimated $48,000 in cash and jewelry, according to police.
Thus far, no one has been charged in either robbery, though police confirmed Mauricio Moreno is a suspect in the Union City incident. He has previously been charged with robbery in a similar crime, where masked gunmen stole $13,000 from a San Leandro resident in 2017, but the charges against Moreno were dismissed in 2019 due to lack of evidence, court records show.
Police say that in late September, they arrested the Moreno brothers on suspicion of murder and a third unnamed person on suspicion of accessory. Prosecutors charged the two brothers and declined to file against the accessory suspect. The brothers remain jailed without bail and have pleaded not guilty, records show.
Originally Published:
Source: www.mercurynews.com