Dating app killer in Fresno gets life, three female accomplices plead guilty to robbery
An Iowa man was sentenced Tuesday for the 2019 robbery and murder of 20-year-old Tyrel Truss, who was lured to Mendota by the killer and three accomplices with a dating app and the promise of hooking up with a woman.
Isaac Ty Helms, 22, of Sioux City, Iowa, was found guilty in April of murder after a 12-day trial. Three female co-defendants, Precious Green and Hannah Haywood, both 22 and from Sioux City; and Alexa Ramos, 23, of Firebaugh, were initially charged with murder and robbery, but prosecutors dropped the murder charges against the women as part of a plea deal.
They were sentenced to two to four years for second-degree robbery, but given credit for time already served in county jail as they waited for the case to come to trial.
Police said Helms and the three accomplices used a dating app, MeetMe, to lure Truss to Fresno’s west side with the promise of a hook up. Truss, who was a complete stranger, took the bait. The defendants’ plan was to rob Truss so they could get enough money to return to Sioux City.
Truss replied to the app and drove to Mendota to meet his alleged date. When he arrived, one of the accomplices asked Truss to give them a ride to nearby Firebaugh. He agreed.
As they neared their destination, Helms used a stolen .22 caliber handgun to try and rob Truss. Helms pistol whipped Truss in the head, but he still refused to give them anything. As the situation escalated, Helms shot Truss from the backseat, hitting him in the back and killing him.
Helms’s attorney Michael Aed tried to convince Judge Brian Alvarez that his client was not a danger to society. He argued that Helms was only 18 when the crime happened and deserved a lighter sentence.
Prosecutor Daniel Walters said that Helms committed a serious offense and deserved a life term. Alvarez weighed the issue and ultimately ruled that Helms would spend the rest of his life in prison.
The judge offered his condolences to Truss’s family memberswho were in the courtroom Tuesday.
“This is a sad case, just sad,” Alvarez said “This robbery was to get money to go home and the irony is he is never going home.”
