Fatal Pleasanton Home Depot Shooting Suspects Plead No Contest

PLEASANTON, CA — The two suspects in the killing of 26-year-old Pleasanton Home Depot security guard Blake Mohs pleaded no contest Monday as part of a plea deal, according to court records reviewed by Patch.

Shooter Benicia Knapps pleaded no contest to second-degree murder. She will receive 19 years to life, rather than 25 years to life, as a result of the plea, according to NBC Bay Area and KTVU. David Guillory, the getaway driver, will serve seven years and four months after pleading no contest to felony charges of child abuse, accessory to murder, and evading law enforcement.

At the time of the shooting, Guillory had already served prison terms for unlawful sexual intercourse and first-degree burglary, while Knapps was on probation for grand theft.

Both are due to be sentenced June 6, according to NBC.

Knapps pleaded no contest to shooting Mohs, a loss prevention officer at the Pleasanton Home Depot, on April 18, 2023. Authorities said that Mohs confronted Knapps while she was shoplifting, and she resisted and shot him. Mohs was rushed to a nearby hospital, but succumbed to his injuries.

Knapps then fled the scene and escaped in a car driven by Guillory. Police say their 21-month-old child was in the car. After they fled the scene, a handgun was recovered in a nearby intersection.

The suspects escaped in a red Nissan Pathfinder and drove 90 mph on I-580, according to police radio traffic obtained by ABC-7. Guillory drove the wrong way down a one-way street during the chase, which eventually ended in Oakland. Knapps reportedly tried to strangle herself with a seatbelt following the police chase, according to an ABC7 report. Deputies untangled the seatbelt and cleared her airways, bringing her back to life.

Both suspects were held at Santa Rita Jail, and initially pleaded not guilty to all charges and enhancements.

Mohs, the victim, was a Boy Scout and Eagle Scout volunteer who hoped to be a police officer. He was killed three months before his scheduled wedding at Camp Royaneh, the same campsite where he met his fiancée when they were both volunteering, according to an ABC7 interview with his mother.

Mother Laurie Mohs told NBC that she and her family advocated for the plea deal.

“It’s us taking back something they stole,” she said. “Because now with a plea deal, there is no appeal. There is no years back in court. It’s done.”

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