Home Depot Victim's Mom Testifies In Congress: 'System Failed My Son'

PLEASANTON, CA — Laurie Mohs, the mother of a 26-year-old Home Depot loss prevention officer who was fatally shot in April, was in Washington last week to testify to the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the rise in organized retail crime.

Retailers reported a 26.5 percent increase in organized retail crime incidents nationally in 2021, according to a 2022 survey on retail security from the National Retail Foundation.

Mohs said that “systemic failures” in the criminal justice system and Home Depot security procedures resulted in the death of her son Blake, who was shot in the Pleasanton Home Depot after trying to apprehend a shoplifter.

“The system failed my son,” Mohs said. “He was asked to do a job with a small wage and high risk, leading to his death.”

Charging documents from the Alameda County District Attorney claim that Benicia Knapps, who is accused of shooting Blake, was on probation for grand theft, and prohibited from possessing a firearm. David Guillory, who is accused of driving the getaway vehicle, had served jail time on two occasions for unlawful sexual intercourse and first-degree burglary.

“For both Guillory and Knapps, the judicial system failed to rehabilitate them properly,” Mohs said. “The system failed to keep them accountable for their private actions, leading to the escalation in criminal behavior, leading to the shooting death of my son. The system failed because instead of rehabilitating criminals, we release them early, we do not execute proper charges in court, and we fail to seek probation violators.”

Knapps and Guillory are both in custody in Santa Rita Jail and charged with multiple felonies, including first-degree murder and armed robbery. Patch is awaiting information on how both defendants have pleaded.

Mohs also accused Home Depot of failing to provide her son with proper protection. Mohs claimed that Blake told her that he was not provided with a bulletproof vest, pepper spray, or safety gear. “Blake would tell me about the many weapons he would have pulled on him, including knives and guns, by shoplifters. When I asked about how he could manage to be safe, my son would tell me he could simply hide behind a post to avoid being shot or hurt,” she said.

Home Depot neither confirmed nor denied Mohs’ allegations. “The Home Depot offers extensive training and resources to all of our associates, with additional training for Asset Protection associates, and we’re constantly assessing what tools and training will keep people safest,” Evelyn Fornes, Home Depot’s senior manager of public affairs, told Patch in an email.

The committee included Pleasanton Representative Eric Swalwell. “My promise to you as the representative for Pleasanton, California where his murder took place is to be an advocate for justice. Not only for Blake, and to make sure that justice is served in this case but that we do address retail crime in this country," Swalwell told Mohs.

Blake was an Eagle Scout and community volunteer who hoped to become a police officer and planned to be married later this year.

“In my son’s short 26 years, he was a chef, an Eagle Scout, a church youth leader, a Newark Police Department cadet, but most of all, he was a friend, a nephew, a cousin, a grandson, a brother, and my son. Blake lived a life of community service dedicated to fighting for the underdog, and a love of his family. He lived life to the fullest every day, laughing often, and giving the best hugs imaginable,” Mohs said.

On April 28, nearly 100 people gathered at the Boy Scouts of America’s Golden Gate Area Council for a candlelight vigil in his memory.

Mohs gave an emotional plea to strengthen security to avoid more unnecessary deaths.

“I will never get to say ‘I love you and am proud’ of you, and will never hear it back. What we do have is 26 wonderful years of memories that were cut too short, and a feeling that so many could have prevented his death,” she said. “My hope is that our story helps this committee understand the importance and the urgency for change.”