Family of Delivery Man Slain in Walnut Creek Demands More Arrests for Suspect's Friends
WALNUT CREEK (KPIX) -- Last month, a young DoorDash delivery driver was murdered in Walnut Creek and, while a suspect has been arrested, the victim's loved ones are speaking out, saying others at the scene should also be held accountable.
On June 17, Stacy DeWayne Corley, Jr. was delivering pizza when he was shot nine times and left for dead on California Blvd. in Walnut Creek. It was the result of an alleged road-rage attack but his mother, Kimberley Banks, says police never even told her that her son had been shot when they contacted her by phone.
"I could hear him speaking," Banks said. "I could hear them asking him questions and that's what made me leery that something wasn't right -- that something was going on."
Banks and Corley's girlfriend, Michel Telles, only found out he had died when they took it upon themselves to go to the police department nearly three hours later.
"I honestly try to think of why we found out the way we did and why we found out hours after he was gone," Telles said.
The lack of communication has aroused distrust about law enforcement's response to the shooting.
The alleged trigger-man, 18-year old Dylan Baker of Martinez, turned himself in 10 days later and is being held in lieu of $2 million bail. Baker allegedly told someone later on the night of the shooting that he had used hollow-point bullets and "I think I emptied my clip."
Baker has been charged with murder, facing a possible sentence of 50 years to life. The driver of the suspect vehicle, a man named Jaesin Collado, was arrested but later released, even though witnesses in the car say he knew Baker had a gun and that Baker allegedly spoke about the need to use it. There were five other people in the car but, at this point, only Baker has been charged.
"I want everybody that was there to get charged," said Telles, "because everybody was there and everybody had a choice to speak up about it and they didn't. The only reason that we have them was because they got caught."
Banks thinks the fact that her son was Black played a part in the decision. "If Stacy was a young white male and these were all-Black or Hispanic suspects, all of them would be in custody right now," she said.
Corley was an aspiring rap artist living in Concord who would have turned 26 last Thursday. His girlfriend says he was goofy and lovable and both women are leaning on each other to try to deal with the pain. They are also demanding justice and they say that won't come as long as five of the six people there that night are allowed to walk free.
"Every charge that Dylan Baker gets, Jaesin Collado should get equal," Banks said. "Anyone else in that car that was present and didn't speak up -- you need to be held for accessory. You had the opportunity to come forward and you didn't."
A GoFundMe account has been set up to cover burial costs.