A Gary man faces 45 years in a plea deal for killing a pawn shop owner in November.
Derek Sanders, 24, pleaded guilty April 8 to murder, court records show. Judge Natalie Bokota would have to accept the agreement.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 20.
His co-defendant Charles Garcia-Berrios, 32, the alleged driver, had the second of three bail hearings Wednesday. He has pleaded not guilty.
Deputy Prosecutor Veronica Gonzalez showed a video from Nov. 17 depicting a man following victim Brandon Cruz, 50, of Lake Station, into his store, We Buy Gold, 3720 Broadway Ave.
Defense lawyer Kerry Connor questioned Gary Police Detective Eric Green – who collected a handful of security videos – on whether there were breaks between the different videos where they didn’t know for sure who got in and out of the Buick that Garcia-Berrios allegedly drove.
Green said he believed the gaps weren’t long enough. However, he admitted they didn’t know where Sanders went after he was dropped off.
The last video surveillance captured was at a Citgo gas station on 169th Street in Hammond where a man fitting Garcia-Berrios description appeared to be alone getting gas.
A third bail hearing is scheduled in May. His trial is scheduled in July.
Gary Police responded at 11:30 a.m., while Cruz was found shot in the back of the head just inside the store. A bullet casing was close by. His death was ruled a homicide.
Just before he went inside the pawn shop, the alleged shooter dropped a purple cellphone on the ground that police later tied to Sanders. A detective wrote there was a short struggle before the man shot Cruz, then ran off.
Just before the shooting, another video appeared to show a dark Buick dropping off a man – in clothing similar to the shooter – one block east on the 3700 block of Washington Street. He is talking on a similar cellphone. The same car picked him up after the shooting.
Police used license plate readers and video to track the vehicle about a half hour after Cruz was killed to a Hammond gas station near Grand Boulevard and 169th Street. One man with neck tattoos – later identified as Garcia-Berrios – went inside.
The Buick was registered to Garcia-Berrios’s wife.
Garcia-Berrios’ cellphone pinged in the area at the time of the murder, charges allege. He was later arrested in a traffic stop where police took two cell phones. He declined to speak to officers.
Sanders was arrested Dec. 9 at his apartment. Officers found clothes similar to the shooter there, according to charging documents.
After his arrest, Sanders told cops that Cruz sold him drugs and he went there angrily to get his money back. Sanders said he knew Cruz for years and was “not afraid to kill ‘(an expletive),’” court records state.
Cruz’s loved ones have disputed this.
He was “devoted” and “hardworking,” who ran the pawn shop for 17 years, according to his obituary. He was a regular member of Family Christian Center in Munster. He had an “eye for quality,” “love for jewelry” and “impeccable style.”
He is survived by a fiancé and three kids.
Post-Tribune archives contributed.
mcolias@post-trib.com
