Christian Speaker, the 17-year-old suspected of shooting store clerk Yahya Ahmed dead during a robbery, will be tried as an adult.
Christian Speaker, the 17-year-old suspected of shooting store clerk Yahya Ahmed dead during a robbery, will be tried as an adult. District Attorney Bob Lee made the announcement at a press conference held Monday. Speaker is currently being held in Eureka, where he was arrested, but will be transported back to Santa Cruz County on Wednesday.
Police Chief Manny Solano provided additional information about the suspect. He said that Speaker had previous convictions for robbery and possession of weapons, and that until recently he was living in a group home in Tulare County. He apparently escaped from the home with a friend who was originally from Watsonville. The friend has also been arrested but is not implicated in the murder of Ahmed, nor in a shoplifting incident that Speaker was involved in the day before at a 98 Cents store.
Police do believe, however, that Speaker may have had another accomplice. He was seen fleeing the scenes of both crimes in a green Infiniti J30, which the police have since found. They are now looking for the driver of the vehicle. Read more at Santa Cruz Sentinel.
