Cops: Gym Instructor Killed Boss For Revenge
By TONY SHIN
Updated 6:46 AM PST, Wed, Jul 8, 2009
A Rolando man who was found dead early Monday morning in Tijuana was killed by one of his workers, according to Mexican authorities.
Benjamin Benson's body was found outside Aquiles Gym in the Los Pinos neighborhood of Tijuana. He had been shot several times in the head and chest.
Police arrested 40-year-old Crecencio Cristian Merlos Gonzalez after they said he confessed to the shooting. Gonzalez was an instructor at the gym and allegedly told investigators Benson had been insulting him over a period of time.
The tension finally came to a boil Monday morning, when authorities said Gonzalez and Benson got into an argument. Investigators said Gonzalez claims Benson was taunting him with a gun, so Gonzalez grabbed it and killed his boss.
"He was a hard working man, he took care of me," Ruby Lee Jackson said. She has known Benson for the past 15 years and considered him her common law husband. "Personality-wise, I'm going to tell you, he was a grouchy bastard, but I loved him."
Jackson said Benson was a father figure to her four daughters and he would do just about anything to make ends meet, even working as a handyman on the Midway Museum.
Jackson doesn't buy the story that the suspect gave police. "I don't believe it, that's not why he shot (Benson)," Jackson said.
Gonzalez has been charged with murder. A woman was also with Benson during the shooting. She was injured, but investigators said she will make a full recovery.
First Published: Jul 7, 2009 9:52 PM PST
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