A man described by authorities as a “ringleader” in West Berkeley’s Waterfront gang has been charged with two Oakland murders dating back to 2009, as well as an attempted murder.
Unreliable statements and a lack of evidence will show the jury Darnell Williams Jr. did not commit the two killings, in Berkeley and Oakland, for which he is standing trial this week, his defense attorney said Tuesday morning.
The shooter rang the doorbell, then straightened out his arms as he held the pistol in front of him with both hands. He waited for the doorknob to move and heard a little girl ask, “Who is it?”
Charges have been dropped in the case against a Pittsburg man accused of shooting a 26-year-old Berkeley man to death last summer.
Four men with Berkeley ties have been held to answer by an Alameda County Superior Court judge on charges that they conspired to murder two rivals last fall.
Update, April 1, 4 p.m. Judge Vernon Nakahara scheduled a decision in the matter for April 9 at 4 p.m.
A man from West Berkeley’s waterfront neighborhood has been in court with three associates before a Superior Court judge since last week after authorities say they tried twice to murder a man who disrespected him and his brother in videos posted on YouTube, as well as his cousin, who was killed in Berkeley last summer, on photography website Instagram.
Update, Jan. 17: Berkeleyside has been informed by a relative of murder victim Anthony Medearis III that the Alameda County district attorney’s office plans to seek the death penalty in the case against Darnell Williams Jr.
A Berkeley man who was shot to death after a dice game in West Berkeley last fall was targeted because he was rumored to have been cooperating with police, according to testimony Wednesday in a hearing related to his murder.
The 7-year-old nephew of a man charged with killing Berkeley father Anthony “Lil Tone” Medearis III in September reluctantly took the stand in a hearing Tuesday to determine whether a trial against Medearis’ accused killer can proceed.
Tuesday afternoon, authorities announced the arrest of the man they say is responsible for the shooting death last July of 26-year-old Jermaine “Third” Davis of Berkeley.
A robbery gone awry after a dice game in West Berkeley left one man dead and a child with a bullet wound to the face in early September, according to court documents released Tuesday afternoon by authorities.
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