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Insets, clockwise from top: Tushar Atre (Santa Cruz Sentinel/obituary), Stephen Lindsay (Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office), Kaleb Charters (Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Surveillance footage allegedly shows Tushar Atre’s killers entering his California home before he was killed (KSBW/YouTube).
In a gripping court testimony last week, a California cannabis worker shed light on the harrowing circumstances leading to the violent death of a marijuana and tech entrepreneur. The worker, who stands accused alongside three others of the millionaire CEO’s murder, painted a picture of a toxic work environment where employees were subjected to grueling demands, including doing pushups to receive their paychecks.
Kaleb Charters, a 25-year-old former member of the U.S. Army National Guard, recounted to jurors how Tushar Atre, the victim, would issue commands reminiscent of military drills. “You guys are in the Army. Do 500 pushups,” Charters recalled of Atre’s paycheck ultimatum, as reported by the local CW affiliate KRON.
Currently on trial for the 2019 murder of Atre, Charters described an incident involving his brother-in-law, Stephen Lindsay, also a former National Guard member, who had been found guilty of first-degree murder earlier this year. Along with Charters’ biological brother, the trio had misplaced the keys to a farm vehicle known as the “Monster Truck,” which allegedly enraged Atre.
This incident occurred just two months before Atre, a Santa Cruz-based executive, was tragically kidnapped, robbed, and killed—stabbed and shot, a crime the prosecutors are actively pursuing.
“Tushar was flipping out,” Charters testified, recalling how he and Lindsay had been working tirelessly, planting hundreds of cannabis plants in the Santa Cruz Mountains. They labored for 10 consecutive days from dawn to dusk, earning $200 daily. “He was going to cancel the checks,” Charters added, highlighting the tense atmosphere that had brewed under Atre’s management.
According to KRON, employees have come forward and accused Atre of creating a toxic work environment to the point where staffers often “joked” behind his back about robbing or hurting him before Atre’s murder. He allegedly yelled at workers repeatedly, withheld and bounced their paychecks, and fired employees if he felt disrespected by them.
“They were humiliated in front of people,” Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Detective Ethan Rumrill testified in late October, according to KRON.
Sam Borghese, another cannabis worker, took the stand last month and accused Atre of being a boss who “pushed his employees very hard.”
“Did Mr. Atre invoke fear in his employees? (So) people would work harder for him?” Charters’ defense attorney, Thomas Brewer, asked Borghese.
“Yes,” Borghese replied.
Charters is accused of robbing and killing Atre with Lindsay, his brother Kurtis Charters, and their friend Joshua Camps, who was allegedly recruited by the others to take part. The group initially intended to rob Atre of $1 million that he was believed to be keeping at his home in Santa Cruz County, according to prosecutors. His body was later found at one of his Santa Cruz cannabis properties.
Video of an alleged confession that Camps gave to police after his arrest was played in court last week, in which he described how they allegedly murdered Atre.
“We zip-tied his hands, shoved a sock in his mouth,” Camps allegedly said. “I told him no one wants to hurt you, we are just here for your stuff. He kept saying, ‘Who are you guys?’ He didn’t know what was going on. … He was covered in blood. He was saying, ‘Please let me go.’ (Lindsay) was asking, ‘Why are you so mean to people?’”
Camps, who is scheduled to have his trial resume this week, allegedly admitted to stabbing Atre in the neck after he tried to escape. He confessed to shooting him with an AR-15 rifle several times in the jaw and the back of the head afterward to put him out of his misery, according to police.
“He wasn’t going to last much longer,” Camps said on the video shown in court. “I knew he was going to die.”
Camps is still in custody, where he faces several counts ranging from carjacking to murder, online records show. His next scheduled court date is set for Nov. 12. Kaleb Charters is still in custody and appeared in court on Friday, Nov. 7.
Charters is facing charges of kidnapping, robbery, burglary, carjacking and first-degree murder. Camps is also facing the same charges and is scheduled to be back in court on Wednesday. Lindsay and Kurtis Charters were convicted of murder and both sentenced to life in prison without parole.