MeetMe app date ends in killing. Was it a robbery spun out of control or self-defense?
The prosecution says the death of 20-year-old Tyrel Truss of Fresno was the result of a trail of bad decisions that stretched from Sioux City, Iowa, to the west side of Fresno County.
The defense attorney says it was self-defense.
Police said Truss was shot and killed on Sept. 26, 2019 after being lured to Mendota through the MeetMe dating app. He was expecting to party with a 19-year-old woman. But the promise of a romantic liaison turned into a robbery attempt that went sideways.
The alleged shooter, 22-year-old Isaac Helms, is on trial for murder. Three women, Precious Green, 22, Hannah Haywood, 22, and Alexa Ramos, 23, were also involved, and pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery. They were originally charged with murder, but that was dropped in a plea agreement with the district attorney’s office.
They are expected to testify against Helms starting Tuesday and into Wednesday.
During his opening statement Monday, prosecutor Daniel Walters said all four defendants knew each other. Helms, Green and Haywood were from Sioux City. Ramos, who is a friend of theirs, used to live there but had recently moved back home to Mendota to go to trade school in Fresno. Haywood was supposed to enroll with her, Walters said.
The three friends from Iowa drove out to Firebaugh to visit Ramos. They were also armed with a .22 caliber pistol they stole from an unlocked car.
Walters said Green and Helms talked about doing a “lick” or a robbery and came up with the idea of convincing someone through a dating app to meet up at a public park in Mendota.
Truss took the bait and when he got to Mendota, Green asked him if he could give them a ride to Firebaugh. Walters said Truss agreed and they all got into his Chevrolet Trax.
Robbery in Firebaugh
As they arrived in Firebaugh, Walters said Helms told Truss, “We are robbing you, give me what you got.”
Helms punched Truss in the back of the head and then pistol-whipped him, Walters said.
“He (Helms) then fires one time and hits Mr. Truss in the back from one to three feet away,” Walters said.
Witnesses called Firebaugh police after seeing Truss’ car driving erratically on Cardella Street between Tucci Street and Landucci Drive. Officer Jesus Molina arrived a short time later and found Truss, still buckled in the driver’s seat, leaning partially out of the open car door. Molina called out to him and he did not respond.
He and another officer got Truss out of the car and put him on a flat surface. Molina checked his pulse and found only a faint one.
Self-defense argued
Helms’ attorney Michael Aed denies that robbery was the intention of any of the defendants. They didn’t need any money. One of their relatives had recently sent them money to get home.
Helms also never planned to fire the gun. He did so in self-defense, Aed said.
Aed painted a different scenario of what happened when they were in the car. He said that even before they got into Truss’ car he made Helms aware he had a gun with him. Once in the car, Aed said, they began to smoke marijuana and playing music loudly.
Truss also began driving erratically, causing Ramos to ask him to stop because she wanted to get out. Helms then hit Truss in the back of the head to force him to stop.
“That’s when Truss says to Helms, ‘I am going to (expletive) kill you,’ and reaches down to grab something,” Aed said. “Helms then shoots him in the back.”
The trial continues Tuesday in Department 50.
