A Redding man police accuse of killing a person outside a Taco Bell in 2022 entered a plea to murder charges on Friday morning, the Shasta County District Attorney’s office reported.
Brent Ray Close, 56, pleaded ‘no contest’ to a charge of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Taco Bell employee Kevin James Richard Wrenne of Redding, according to the district attorney’s office.
Close’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m., May 11, the district attorney’s office said in the report. At that time, he’ll be sentenced to 50 years to life in a state prison, according to the terms of his plea.
Around 10 p.m. on March 28, 2022, Wrenne, 29, was on a break outside the downtown Redding restaurant when he was “attacked and killed,” according to Redding police and district attorney’s office reports.
Police investigating found video footage at a business near Shasta Street that showed Close throwing a knife toward a nearby business’ roof, Redding Police Capt. Ron Icely said during a press conference on March 30, 2022. “Because of that video, detectives were able to recover the suspected murder weapon.”
Close was arrested two days after the stabbing where he lived: An encampment near Redding Memorial Park, Icely said.
“Close has an extensive criminal history going back as far as 1979 as a juvenile,” Icely said during the press conference.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Kelly Kafel prosecuted the case, and Redding Police Department Detective Nicholas Day was the lead investigator, according to the district attorney’s office.