Self-Defense Claimed In Fatal Shooting Outside Illegal Oakland Gambling Club
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A defense attorney admitted on Monday that a 22-year-old man fatally shot another man outside an illegal gambling club in Oakland last year but said he did so in self-defense.
In his opening statement in the trial of Marshawn Chambers, defense lawyer Chris Lamiero said Chambers acted in "justifiable self-defense" when he shot Xin Hoang, 32, outside the club in the 1100 block of International Boulevard at about 2:20 a.m. on Aug. 26, 2018.
Lamiero said Chambers opened fire because Hoang was armed with a metal pipe and Hoang's friend and associate Anthony Le, 27, of Alameda was armed with a gun and he thought they were about to assault him.
Lamiero told jurors that at the end of the case they will agree with him that the only appropriate verdict will be to decide that Chambers is not guilty of the murder, attempted murder and assault charges he faces.
But Alameda County prosecutor John Ullom said Chambers should be found guilty of those charges because Hoang and Le weren't threatening him even though they may have been armed.
Ullom said Chambers could have joined his friend in walking away from the club after they were asked to leave but decided to stay near the club and open fire because his ego was hurt when they were kicked out.
Oakland police said in court papers that patrons at the illegal gambling establishment became "alarmed" after Chambers entered the club with a friend and saw that he had a gun.
But Lamiero said surveillance camera footage at the club "doesn't show my client (Chambers) and his friend doing anything out of the ordinary."
Lamiero said the people in charge of the club in the 1100 block of International Boulevard called an affiliated illegal club at East 12th Street and Seventh Avenue to ask guards that he described as "thugs" to help them out because a robbery was taking place.
Lamiero said the guards who protect the clubs didn't call police for help but instead formed a posse "and went over to handle business themselves and took weapons with them to handle the business."
The defense attorney said when the security team arrived at the club and asked Chambers to leave he complied and "didn't fight, argue or pull out a gun."
But Lamiero said that once they were outside the club, Hoang, Le and the security team taunted and flanked Chambers and acted in an aggressive and threatening manner.
Lamiero said Chambers opened fire because "he made a decision that he did not want to be assaulted by men with a gun (Le) and a metal pipe (Hoang)."
In addition to murder, Chambers is charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting a second man who survived his injuries and assault with a semi-automatic firearm for allegedly shooting a woman who also survived her injuries.
Chambers also is charged with carrying a concealed firearm on his person and carrying a loaded firearm in a city as well as possession of a
firearm by a felon and possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, as prosecutors allege he was convicted of assault in Alameda County in 2015.
In an unusual twist, prosecutors also list Chambers as being a victim in the shooting, as they charged Le of assault with a semi-automatic firearm for allegedly shooting Chambers outside the illegal gambling club.
Le also is charged with three additional counts of assault for allegedly shooting at three unidentified victims who weren't injured.
Le is a co-defendant in the case and sat near Chambers at the defense table at their preliminary hearing in April.
But he will have a separate trial and is scheduled to return to court for a hearing on Oct. 18.
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