Getting your
Trinity Audioplayer ready...An Alameda County judge on Tuesday ordered the release of a teenager accused of killing three men while plowing a Chevrolet Avalanche into a crowd of people last month in East Oakland.
Judge Arturo Castro said he saw no evidence the May 16 crash — which also left several others injured — resulted from road rage, adding that “no motive has been uncovered,” and there was “no intent apparent to harm anyone.” The teen, who was 17 at the time of the crash, was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, had no long pattern of reckless driving and bore no history of “bad blood” with any of the victims, the judge said.
“A young driver, in the worst possible way, lost control of the car,” said Castro, who added the teen has shown “excellent behavior” while in custody. The Bay Area News Group is not naming the suspect because he is charged as a juvenile.
Castro — whose ruling came over the objection of prosecutors — ordered the teen to remain in his home upon release, and required him to wear a monitoring device.
The judge then directly addressed the teen, sitting mere feet away in khaki pants, a green collared shirt and a grey sweater, saying: “I will not be kind if I hear any violation of the court (orders).”
The ruling comes a month after a pickup careened at more than 50 mph into a crowd of people near the intersection of 85th Avenue and International Boulevard. The teen was alone in the sport-utiity truck as it sped north on 85th Avenue, made a left turn onto International, hit some parked vehicles and jumped the curb into the crowd, authorities said.
Three men — Charles Ray Blackmon, 65, of Oakland; James Robert Dixon, 64, who had addresses in Sacramento and Oakland; and Miguel Sanchez Ramirez, 44, of Oakland — died at the scene. At least five other people were injured, one of them critically.
City officials later said eyewitnesses detained the teen until police arrived and took him into custody. However, police are now investigating cell phone footage posted to social media afterward depicting numerous men — at least four of five — beating the boy for some time after the wreck.
It is not clear if he was actually detained by those involved in the beating, or by other people who rescued him from the attackers. No arrests have been announced in the assault.
The teen’s public defender, Kristen McCannon, referenced the beating last week while asking the judge to bar the public from court proceedings. She said her client had been robbed of his wallet — which included information about his name and address — while being subjected to a “vicious attack by a group of grown men.”
The attorney also spoke of a “continued risk of harm” to the teen, and stressed that questions remain about whether his alleged actions that day should be considered reckless. Castro later denied her request, ruling the case remains “presumptively public.”
On Tuesday, McCannon argued that her client has “done a fantastic job” while in custody, and described a plan to keep the teenager safe upon his release. The teen will be in counseling and “has a lot of support” at home and in the community, the attorney said, adding that his safety plan “is one he can follow.”
“The community will be safe, as well as my client,” McCannon told the judge.
A prosecutor, Kevin Ikuma, objected to the teen’s release “due to the severity of the case.” The teen, who remains charged as a juvenile, faces three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, five counts of leaving the scene of an accident causing death or serious injury and four counts of hit-and-run driving.
Castro acknowledged the victims’ relatives may disagree with his ruling, and stressed that juveniles can remain detained “only under very narrow circumstances.”
As he has at multiple court hearings, Castro lamented having a “heavy heart” while presiding over the case, and extended “our collective thoughts and wishes” to people impacted by it.
“This tragedy obviously caused a deep wound in the community,” Castro said.
Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.