Police: Suspect in murder, robbery of armored car guard in San Leandro confesses

SAN LEANDRO -- A man suspected in the brazen robbery and murder of an armored car guard outside Kaiser hospital in San Leandro last month was arrested and has confessed to the crime, according to police.

The incident happened on September 7th a few minutes before noon. San Leandro police said officers responding to reports of gunfire found the guard suffering from a gunshot wound to the back of his head. He had just exited the east side of the hospital campus and was carrying a messenger bag with currency.

The guard, identified as 60-year-old John Mendez, was critically hurt and died of his injuries several hours later. He had been with his company, GardaWorld, for nearly 40 years.

The suspect fled on foot and was believed to have ran to a waiting getaway vehicle.

On Tuesday at about 5 a.m., officers served an arrest warrant for Akbar Bey, a 27-year-old Oakland resident the murder and he was arrested without incident. Police said in a press statement Thursday that detectives obtained a full confession from Bey where he admitted shooting Mendez in the back of his head before taking the bag containing the cash.

The Alameda Country District Attorney's Office file charges against Bey on Wednesday.

San Leandro police said the investigation was ongoing and additional suspects, accomplices and witnesses were still being sought.

No additional information was available from police.

"This is another example of San Leandro Police uniting to work with one another to bring some closure to Mr. Mendez's family and everyone affected by this tragic, senseless incident," said San Leandro PD Lt. Matthew Barajas in a prepared statement.

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call the department at 510-577-2740.