Authorities in San Joaquin County are searching for three Vallejo men accused of kidnapping and killing a Sikh temple volunteer in what investigators describe as a fatal case of mistaken identity.
The sheriff's office identified the suspects earlier this month as Alberto Alencastro, 25; Alfonso Segura, 20; and Barnabe Segura, 22. All three remain at large and have ties to Mexico, investigators said.
A San Joaquin County grand jury has indicted the men on charges of murder with special circumstances and kidnapping. If convicted, each faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to District Attorney Ron Freitas.
Avtar Singh, 57, was abducted around 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 17 from the Gurdwara Guru Nanak Parkash complex in the 16000 block of West Grant Line Road in Tracy. Singh lived on the temple grounds with his wife and their triplets, and he had served for years as a sevadaar, or volunteer, at the gurdwara, where he also worked as the temple's cook.
Three days after the abduction, searchers discovered Singh's body roughly 100 miles away in a remote area near Lake Berryessa.
Investigators determined that Singh was never the intended target. San Joaquin County Sheriff's Capt. Joe Petrino said the suspects had been hunting a man tied to a stolen cargo trailer. That man was in Canada when the abduction took place, and detectives later traveled there to interview him. He told authorities he had been receiving threats over the trailer, according to KCRA. Officials have not disclosed what was inside the trailer, and they stressed the dispute had nothing to do with Singh.
"This happened right here in our own backyard. This man was taken from a place of worship in broad daylight because of a theft that had nothing to do with him," Sheriff Patrick Withrow said.
Detectives linked the suspects to the crime using Flock automated license plate readers, which captured the plate of a white crossover vehicle registered out of Vallejo that was used during the crime, Petrino said. Deputies located the vehicle two days after Singh's death, helping investigators trace the case back to the three men.
Community members remembered Singh for his warmth and spiritual commitment, and those who knew him said he could be relied on to repair almost anything on the temple grounds. He was known for his "humility, quiet dedication, and loving nature that made everyone feel like family," said Rasleen Kaur. "His seva, sincerity, and unwavering faith touched countless lives, and his absence leaves a profound void in our community."
