Kaleb Charters, 19, is currently on trial for murder in connection with the death of businessman Tushar Atre, 50, in October 2019. The trial is ongoing.

According to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office in California, Kaleb is accused of robbing and killing Atre along with Stephen Lindsay, 22, his brother Kurtis Charters, 22, and their friend Joshua Camps, 23.

Prosecutors allege the group initially intended to steal one million USD that Atre reportedly kept at his home in Santa Cruz. The victim's body was later found at one of his cannabis farms in the Santa Cruz mountains. Police arrested the suspects in December 2019.

Kurtis and Stephen were convicted of first-degree murder in separate trials earlier this year.

Tushar Atre was the CEO of web design company Atrenet and a cannabis entrepreneur. Photo: CBS

During his trial testimony on November 5, Kaleb told the jury that in August 2019, he and Stephen worked from morning to night for 10 days at Atre's cannabis farm to earn 200 USD per day. Their work primarily involved manual labor, such as setting up fence posts and planting hundreds of cannabis plants.

Kaleb testified that on one occasion, Atre humiliated him and Stephen for losing the keys to a truck at the cannabis farm. When they found the keys, Atre scolded them for wasting valuable time.

Kaleb stated that Atre initially refused to pay them, then ordered him and Stephen to perform 500 push-ups in front of others before receiving 1,400 USD. This amount was 600 USD less than the 2,000 USD they were promised for 10 days of work.

Stephen Lindsay (left) and Kaleb Charters. Photo: Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office

Other witnesses corroborated the account of being forced to do push-ups.

According to one witness, Atre fostered a toxic work environment, leading employees to "joke" about robbing or harming him. The entrepreneur allegedly frequently yelled at employees, withheld wages, or fired staff if he felt they were disrespectful.

Testifying in October, Sam Borghese, Atre's close friend and assistant, also confirmed that the tech millionaire had a strict management style and created a hostile work environment, sometimes withholding employee wages.

Last week, a video of Joshua's confession to police after his arrest was shown in court, detailing how they killed the victim.

"We tied his hands with zip ties, stuffed socks in his mouth," Joshua recounted. He admitted to stabbing and shooting the victim when he tried to escape.

Joshua and Kaleb face charges of kidnapping, robbery, theft, carjacking, and first-degree murder.

Tue Anh (according to People, CBS, Law&crime)