'They were humiliated': Man helped tech CEO's employees kill him with sock 'shoved' in mouth and gunshot to jaw after he made them do 500 pushups for paychecks

A California antheral has been convicted of murder and different charges for the brutal sidesplitting of a marijuana and tech entrepreneur who created a hostile and torturous enactment environment that included forcing the man's friends to bash pushups for paychecks.

Joshua Camps, 29, was recovered blameworthy of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and burglary Wednesday for the 2019 slaying of Santa Cruz tech CEO Tushar Atre, according to section CW affiliate KRON. Prosecutors said helium helped 3 others slaughter Atre aft 2 of them were forced by the marijuana brag to bash the pushups.

"They were humiliated successful beforehand of people," said Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Detective Ethan Rumrill astir Kaleb Charters and Stephen Lindsay, who worked for Atre astatine a cannabis farm, portion testifying during Charters' proceedings successful October 2025, according to KRON.

Sam Borghese, different idiosyncratic who was employed by Atre, took the basal and accused Atre of being a brag who "pushed his employees precise hard."

"Did Mr. Atre invoke fearfulness successful his employees? (So) radical would enactment harder for him?" Charters' defence attorney, Thomas Brewer, asked Borghese during his trial.

"Yes," Borghese replied.

Charters, who was recovered blameworthy and sentenced to beingness successful prison, recruited Camps and his ain brother, Kurtis Charters, to instrumentality portion successful a planned robbery of $1 cardinal astatine Atre's home. Things went wrong, though, aft Atre managed to escape, according to prosecutors.

"Camps … started stabbing him over, and over, and over," a authoritative explained during Kaleb Charters' trial, portion showing jurors photos of an SUV with Atre's humor smeared each implicit it. "Kurtis grabbed [Atre] and threw him successful this car."

The men drove Atre to a Santa Cruz cannabis spot to decorativeness him off, with Lindsay yelling astatine him during the drive. "Why are you truthful mean to people?" Lindsay shouted, according to a confession that constabulary accidental Camps gave aft his arrest.

According to KRON, employees came guardant and accused Atre of creating a toxic enactment situation to the constituent wherever staffers often "joked" down his backmost astir robbing oregon hurting him earlier Atre's murder. They said helium yelled astatine workers repeatedly, withheld and bounced their paychecks, and fired employees if helium felt disrespected by them.

Prosecutors said the 4 men killed the multimillionaire CEO astatine the precise aforesaid determination wherever the enactment maltreatment unfolded.

"It's fitting wherever they chose to instrumentality him to," Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Michael McKinney told jurors during closing arguments of Kaleb Charters' trial, according to the Los Gatan newspaper, successful notation to his marijuana farm.

Kaleb Charters, a erstwhile U.S. Army National Guard member, testified during his proceedings astir Atre's paycheck ultimatum.

"You guys are successful the Army. Do 500 pushups," Kaleb Charters recounted Atre telling him and Lindsay, different erstwhile National Guard member, according to KRON.

Kaleb Charters claimed that helium and Lindsay — who was besides convicted of first-degree murder, on with Kurtis Charters — had mislaid keys to a workplace conveyance nicknamed the "Monster Truck" and Atre was livid. This was conscionable 2 months earlier the Santa Cruz-based brag was kidnapped, robbed, stabbed and shot to death, according to prosecutors.

"Tushar was flipping out," Kaleb Charters testified, noting however helium and Lindsay had conscionable planted hundreds of cannabis plants successful the Santa Cruz Mountains, allegedly moving 10 days consecutive from dawn until dusk for $200 a day. "He was going to cancel the checks."

More from Law&Crime: Woman recovered dormant successful closet and wedged down doorway aft DoorDash operator notices 'foul smell' coming from apartment, cops and household say

Video of the alleged confession that Camps gave to constabulary aft his apprehension was played successful tribunal during Kaleb Charters' trial, successful which helium described however the radical allegedly murdered Atre.

"We zip-tied his hands, shoved a sock successful his mouth," Camps said. "I told him nary 1 wants to wounded you, we are conscionable present for your stuff. He kept saying, 'Who are you guys?' He didn't cognize what was going on. … He was covered successful blood. He was saying, 'Please fto maine go.'"

Camps allegedly admitted to stabbing Atre successful the cervix aft helium tried to escape. He confessed to shooting him with an AR-15 firearm respective times successful the jaw and the backmost of the caput afterward to enactment him retired of his misery, according to police.

"He wasn't going to past overmuch longer," Camps said. "I knew helium was going to die."

Lindsay and Kurtis Charters were some sentenced to beingness successful situation without parole, on with Kaleb Charters. Camps is owed to beryllium sentenced connected March 19.