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 2023, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
Edin Moises Guerra Ortiz, 25, 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 said.
San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said 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 said. “I’m very satisfied that justice was done in this case.”
At around 11:30 a.m. on July 24, 2024, Guerra Ortiz approached four employees of Mountain Mushroom Farm who were on their lunch break, prosecutors said. Days earlier, he had been fired from job there, authorities said.
Guerra Ortiz, who brought his 4-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 said. He then allegedly threatened to execute them and made additional threats to kill.
He did not actually have a gun but made motions “effectively enough that the victims fully (believed) that he did have a gun with him,” Wagstaffe said.
Because of the history of the farm, the workers were terrified by Guerra Ortiz’s threats, prosecutors said. The threats came a year after a disgruntled employee went on a shooting spree in January 2023 at Mountain Mushroom Farm and a nearby farming business.
None of the victims of Guerra Ortiz’s threats had witnessed the 2023 mass shooting.
Wagstaffe added that because this incident occurred only 18 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 said. “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 incident 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 victims’ vehicles, prosecutors said. In the investigation, it was found that he had also vandalized a fence and slashed the tires of an employee’s car the day before the incident.
Guerra Ortiz was arrested July 30, 2024 at his mother’s house. He allegedly told police that the victims had laughed at him about a personal problem and that he wanted to scare them.
Guerra Ortiz’s defense attorney Jason Cueva did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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 93 days of credited time served and can be modified to a residential treatment program, prosecutors said. Guerra Ortiz will also not be allowed to have any contact with the Mountain Mushroom Farm or any of the four victims. He will pay $370 in fines and fees.
Guerra Ortiz, who had been out on $140,000 bail, was remanded into custody to begin his sentence. He will next appear in court July 21 for a restitution hearing.