Man pleads no contest to stealing leg from train crash
A man pleaded no contest Thursday in Kern County Superior Court in Shafter to charges related to stealing a severed leg from a crime scene at a Wasco train station.
Rosendo Tellez, 27, was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest to one count of removing human remains from a place other than a cemetery, one count of disposing of human remains in a place other than a cemetery, one count of destroying evidence and one count of resisting a peace officer, all misdemeanors.
According to a probable cause statement submitted by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office to the Kern County Superior Court, on March 22, deputies saw Tellez waving a body part around while officers were en route to the location where a pedestrian was hit by a train.
Videos of Tellez waving the leg in the air circulated on social media on March 22 and at least one video shows Tellez taking a bite of the body part, which garnered national media attention.
Tellez told deputies he took the body part from the crime scene because “he thought the leg was his,” according to the statement.
Tellez was sentenced Thursday to one year in jail for the misdemeanor charges. His other misdemeanor case for possessing controlled substance paraphernalia was dismissed. In his felony case, Tellez was sentenced Wednesday to three years plus 180 days in custody after he admitted to violating his probation.
