Ex-Felon Charged With Murder For Fatal Oakland Shooting
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A three-time felon was charged with murder on Monday for a fatal shooting in East Oakland last month.
Andre Griffin, 36, was arraigned in Alameda County Superior Court on Monday for the shooting death of 36-year-old Keith Woodson in the 1400 block of 85th Avenue at 4 p.m. on Dec. 23.
Griffin returned to court on Tuesday to be assigned an attorney and is scheduled to come to court again on Jan. 28 to enter a plea.
Officers who responded to the shooting on 85th Avenue on Dec. 23 found Woodson and another man suffering from gunshot wounds. Woodson was pronounced dead at the scene, Oakland police Officer Wenceslao Garcia wrote in a probable cause statement.
Investigators identified Griffin as the suspect in the shooting based on information that was provided by concerned citizens, Garcia wrote.
In addition, Oakland police gang experts identified Griffin as the suspect through surveillance, social media, cellphone records that placed him at the scene of the shooting, surveillance footage and distinctive clothing, according to Garcia.
A judge issued a warrant for Griffin on Jan. 6 and he was arrested at the federal courthouse in Oakland at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. When investigators interviewed Griffin, he said he didn't know the victims in the shooting and hadn't been in the area where it occurred, Garcia wrote.
Griffin is charged with murder for Woodson's death, assault with a semi-automatic firearm for allegedly shooting the man who was wounded, and being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.
Prosecutors say Griffin was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine in federal court in 2012, of selling or offering to sell a controlled substance in Alameda County in 2011 and of grand theft in Alameda County in 2010.
Woodson was one of six Oakland men who were indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2018 on charges related to the distribution of cocaine or cocaine base in the area of 85th Avenue and International Boulevard in East Oakland between February 2017 and April 2018.
That's the same area where Woodson was fatally shot.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said the prosecutions were the result of an investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the Oakland Police Department.
Court records indicate that Woodson entered a plea on Oct. 25, 2018, but the details of his plea aren't available.
The records indicated that Woodson was placed in the Conviction Alternatives Program, which the U.S. Attorney's Office said is a post-guilty program for select individuals that focuses on drug and mental health treatment, alternative sanctions and incentives to address offender behavior, rehabilitation, and the safety of the community.
Federal prosecutors said people selected for the program enter a guilty plea under a plea agreement which requires participation in the program and specifies the benefit to be received if the program is completed successfully: either a dismissal of the federal charges or a sentence reduced so that it doesn't include a term of imprisonment.
Woodson was scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6. His attorney didn't respond to a request to comment on his case.
© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
