Slain Home Depot employee Blake Mohs honored in candlelight vigil; Parents fight for justice
Members of the community and law enforcement Tuesday honored slain security guard and aspiring police officer Blake Mohs, killed after confronting a shoplifter at a Home Depot in Pleasanton in April.
Tuesday marked three months since the 26-year-old Mohs was shot to death while on the job. Police said the loss prevention worker was shot dead by the thief who walked out of the store with a charger for a power tool.
A 32-year-old suspect, Benicia Knapps, was arrested for his murder. Mohs' mother Lori Mohs said after her son retrieved the charger, the suspect came back into the store and shot him at close range, before she picked up the item and left in a getaway car with alleged driver David Guillory. Knapps's 2-year-old child was also in the car.
"Thank you for coming, I promised myself I wouldn't do this," said Lori Mohs as she choked back tears. "This journey's hard, it's hard and so today is special for me, and the reason it's special is you know Blake always wanted to be a Newark police officer, that was his life goal."
On Tuesday, several members of the Newark Police Department, including its chief, showed up for his candlelight vigil.
Mohs, who grew up in Newark, was heavily involved in the Boy Scouts his entire life and went through the police explorer and cadet program. A week before his murder, he texted his mentor, Newark Police Lt. Sal Sandoval that he was looking to make the transition.
His final message read in part:
"I'll be starting to send out apps again I think I'm finally ready. My sprints are great. I'm still working on cardio though ..."
Sandoval heads the police explorer and cadet program at the department.
"I'm going to remember Blake, I'm going to remember his smile, I'm going to remember wishing I could clone him for more officers, but I remember him just like you guys being there being helpful," said Sandoval.
Family members and former co-workers shared stories of Blake's compassion and giving spirit.
As they hold Blake close to their hearts, the Mohs family is fighting another battle - pressing the Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price to pursue the maximum punishment.
Their frustration with the DA's office got the attention of the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill. In June, Lori testified during a hearing on The Rise In Organized Retail Crime and the Threat to Public Safety.
"To the prosecutors in this case, I hope they're listening to this, what do you want to see as an outcome?" said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin).
"It's not fair that we have to be victimized again to fight for our child, and to fight for justice and the right things to happen in court," Mohs told lawmakers.
Earlier this week, this reporter sat down for a rare one-on-one with Price, a progressive DA who is now facing a recall campaign. Critics say she is excessively lenient on criminals, who are emboldened by her soft-on-crime policies. Price believes adding enhancements to charges, which can add prison time, creates racial bias.
She refused to respond to Lori's testimony.
"Since I haven't had any conversation with her, reading me some statement that she made, I think that's not fair," Price said.
When Price was asked whether showing her the video clip of the testimony would allow her to comment, the district attorney responded: "No."
As the case moves forward, the Mohs family will always have a home at the Newark Police Department. His parents dedicated a special memorial bench and gifted it to the department.
Mohs' parents Lori and Eric find ways to honor their son every day, whether it's wearing custom jackets with his favorite characters from 'Lilo and Stitch' or looking at art. Some of his ashes have also been blown into glass spheres that the family displayed at the vigil.