Deputies ID 4 Men Charged In Murder Of Santa Cruz Tech Exec

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office has identified the four men in connection with the killing of Tushar Atre, a local tech executive kidnapped in the early Oct. 1 from his oceanfront Pleasure Point home and killed in a suspected robbery-gone-wrong.

Joshua J. Camps, 23, of Lancaster, Kurtis Charters, 22, of Lancaster, Kaleb Charters, 19, of St. Clair Shores, Michigan and Stephen N. Lindsay, 22, of Burbank were simultaneously arrested Tuesday at or near their homes, said Lt. Brian Cleveland during a Thursday morning press conference.

Camps, Kurtis Charters and Lindsay were arrested in Southern California and have been booked into jail in Santa Cruz County on murder, robbery and kidnapping charges. Cleveland said none of the men had criminal backgrounds.

Kaleb Charters is still in Michigan and will be extradited to California by the end of the week, Cleveland said. He will face the same charges.

Kaleb Charters and Lindsay worked for Atre's cannabis company Interstitial Systems, Cleveland said. Atre, 50, was also the owner of Atrenet, a corporate website development company serving Silicon Valley Tech companies, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The men emerged from an alleyway, armed with a rifle, on the night of the crime, Cleveland said.

Officials previously released videos showing the men approaching Atre's home, carrying a duffle bag. His body was found around 10 a.m. that same day after deputies went to the 24000 block of Soquel San Jose Road near the Summit and discovered his BMW SUV. He died from a gunshot wound.

Investigators spent 3,000 hours on the case, said Sheriff Jim Hart. They conducted hundreds of interviews, filed 100 police reports and served 60 search warrants throughout the course of the investigation, Cleveland said. The sheriff's office collaborated with law enforcement agencies in Southern California, Nevada and Michigan to pull off the arrests.

The sheriff's office declined to share who pulled the trigger or how the suspected robbery-gone-wrong went down, as the investigation is ongoing.

"This was a senseless crime," Cleveland said. "There's really no explanation. These people wanted monetary gain."

Members of the public coordinated a $200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect, but the arrests were the result of investigators' efforts, Cleveland said.

Sheriff's office spokesperson Ashley Keehn read aloud a statement from Atre's family.

"Today is the 233rd day we mourn the loss of our beloved Tushar," they wrote.

Atre moved to Santa Cruz from the East Coast in 1996, they wrote. He was an entrepreneur who gave people their first jobs and created opportunities. He was a surfer, mountain biker, guitarist and craftsman whose "spirit lives on in us and countless others," they wrote.

His family expressed their gratitude to investigators.

"Their tireless commitment to protect our community and achieving justice for Tushar is truly inspiring," they wrote.

Read more:

• Kidnap Victim Tushar Atre Confirmed Dead In Santa Cruz County
• Slaying Of Tushar Atre: New Video Released, $200K Reward
• Suspected Killers Of Tushar Atre Caught On Video

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