Half Moon Bay man pleads to threatening to kill co-workers at farm where mass shooting occurred

HALF MOON BAY A man pleaded no contest Wednesday to threatening to execute four co-workers last year at the same mushroom farm that was the site of a mass shooting where seven people were killed in according to the San Mateo County District Attorney s Office Edin Moises Guerra Ortiz pleaded no contest to one count of felony threats and admitted to a serious felony allegation He was sentenced to six months in county jail and two years of supervised probation prosecutors declared San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe revealed that six months in jail was a reasonable sentence for what occurred Hopefully this individual learned a lesson and learned how scary that conduct is to individuals Wagstaffe mentioned I m very satisfied that justice was done in this development At around a m on July Guerra Ortiz approached four employees of Mountain Mushroom Farm who were on their lunch break prosecutors announced Days earlier he had been fired from job there government disclosed Guerra Ortiz who brought his -year-old son with him prosecutors added made a move that indicated he was holding a handgun and ordered the four employees to kneel down prosecutors explained He then allegedly threatened to execute them and made additional threats to kill He did not genuinely have a gun but made motions effectively enough that the casualties fully held that he did have a gun with him Wagstaffe declared Because of the history of the farm the workers were terrified by Guerra Ortiz s threats prosecutors explained The threats came a year after a disgruntled employee went on a shooting spree in January at Mountain Mushroom Farm and a nearby farming business None of the casualties of Guerra Ortiz s threats had witnessed the mass shooting Wagstaffe added that because this development occurred only months after the shooting there s tension out there When somebody lets people think there s a gun that s a dangerous situation And at the mushroom farm where four of the seven lost their lives Wagstaffe mentioned It s a tense place and we re glad that the word can spread around that if you do something like this you re going to be in jail for a good stretch In another affair at the same farm a former manager of the farm broke into a worker s trailer and threatened to kill him and his family He was charged with attempted murder for shooting a handgun through the trailer The shot did not cause any injuries Before he left the farm Guerra Ortiz vandalized two of the casualties vehicles prosecutors commented In the analysis it was revealed that he had also vandalized a fence and slashed the tires of an employee s car the day before the occurrence Guerra Ortiz was arrested July at his mother s house He allegedly reported police that the casualties had laughed at him about a personal challenge and that he sought to scare them Guerra Ortiz s defense attorney Jason Cueva did not right away respond to requests for comment Related Articles Suspect in Santana Row Valentine s Day murder episode attacks rival gang member in juvenile hall Blighted San Jose site where -plus homes are eyed goes up for sale for million Lawsuit Closure of San Mateo s Par restaurant comprehensively avoidable Assistants charged with elder abuse fraud after operating unlicensed San Jose care home Man facing deportation charged with assaulting ICE officer in San Jose He was originally charged with four counts of making criminal threats and three felony counts of vandalism One of the vandalism counts was dismissed at a preliminary hearing in August The others were dismissed as part of his plea deal Guerra Ortiz s sentence included days of credited time served and can be modified to a residential remedy project prosecutors announced Guerra Ortiz will also not be allowed to have any contact with the Mountain Mushroom Farm or any of the four casualties He will pay in fines and fees Guerra Ortiz who had been out on bail was remanded into custody to begin his sentence He will next appear in court July for a restitution hearing