Fresno County judge releases two women in robbery and murder case. What’s next in court
Two of the four defendants arrested in connection with the death of a 20-year-old Fresno man who was lured to the west side, robbed and killed will be released from jail, a judge ruled Thursday.
Judge Michael Idiart agreed to let Alexa Ramos, 21, and Hannah Heywood, 20, out of jail under strict conditions, including wearing a GPS monitor.
Ramos and Heywood, along with Precious Green, 21, and Isaac Helms, 20, were all charged with murder and second-degree robbery in connection with the Sept. 26, 2019 killing of Tyrel Truss of Fresno.
But Ramos and Heywood agreed to a plea deal in November with the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutor Ryan Wells dropped the murder charge and Ramos and Heywood pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery. In exchange, the two women will be witnesses in the murder case against Green and Helms.
Detectives said Truss drove to Mendota to meet a woman he had been communicating with online.
When he arrived, the woman introduced him to three friends – two other women and a young man – who asked him for a ride in his car to Firebaugh. Investigators said they believe that Helms was armed with a handgun and that during the trip he shot Truss.
Helms, Heywood and Green were all from Sioux City, Iowa, and Ramos lived there before moving to Fresno County.
Heywood’s attorney Jane Boulger said she was pleased with the deal. She said her client was studying to be a medical assistant and had never even been suspended from school, let alone sent to jail. Boulger admits that Heywood knew they were going to try and rob Truss, but none of them knew Truss had a gun. Investigators say Helms shot Truss during a struggle.
Heywood was arrested the day after the shooting and has remained in jail since.
“Hannah was not planning on a life of crime,” Boulger said. “She was going to work in a physician’s office.”
Defense attorney Antonio Alvarez declined to comment Thursday about his client, Ramos. In court, he said Ramos will be released to her mother who already has a job lined up for her daughter.
Both women will be back in court on May 27 for a settlement conference. Boulger said Heywood could receive up to five years in prison on the second-degree robbery charge.
The family of Truss could not be reached for comment Thursday.
