Orinda Halloween Shooting: DA Not Filing Charges, Most Suspects Released
ORINDA (CBS SF) -- Contra Costa County prosecutors are not filing charges against the suspects in the Orinda Halloween party shooting at an Airbnb and most of the suspects have been released, the district attorney's office announced Monday.
The DA's office met with the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office to review the incident on Monday and decided that "no charges are being filed at this time against any individual," according to public information officer Scott Alonso with the DA's office.
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The DA had 72 hours to file charges against the suspects arrested in connection with the Halloween night shooting but declined to do so.
The shooting left five people dead, two of whom were armed gang members.
Contra Costa Sheriff David Livingston said the two associated gang members--Ramon Hill Jr. and Javin County--were armed when they were fatally shot in a hail of gunfire. Hill was associated with San Francisco's Paige Street Gang while County was associated with the Marin City Jungle Gang.
Five total suspects were arrested Thursday in a series of raids in Vallejo, Antioch, San Mateo and Marin City. Four were taken into custody on suspicion of murder and conspiracy, including 28-year-old Lebraun Wallace from San Mateo, 20-year-old Jaquez Sweeney and 20-year-old Jason Iles from Marin City, as well as 30-year-old Shamron Mitchell from Antioch.
The fifth suspect arrested is Vallejo resident Devin Williamson, 21, who has been charged as an accessory to the crime.
All suspects except for Wallace were released Monday night, according to the sheriff's office.
"We stand by our investigation and the arrests were made pursuant to a judge's order. Although the District Attorney may want more investigation done, the persons arrested and responsible for these crimes will ultimately be held to account. The entire investigation is ongoing as is common in these types of complex cases," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
"I'm surprised because a lot of effort should have gone into preparing the arrest warrants that led to the militarized vehicles going into Marin City and the effort that it took to make those arrests," said criminal defense attorney Tony Brass.
Brass, a former San Francisco gang prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, says not bringing charges means the district attorney does not have enough evidence to proceed.
"My experience with the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office is that they're very prepared. They like to be prepared, their cases are well-built," said Brass.
Brass says the district attorney can still issue a warrant for the suspects arrest at a later date.
The investigation is ongoing and officials ask anyone with information on the shooting to contact the Sheriff's Homicide Unit at (925) 313-2600.
