|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A former sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot two men while on patrol in Danville will remain on parole after serving three years in prison for one of those shootings, with a Contra Costa County Superior Court judge denying his motion to dismiss his conviction Thursday morning.
Shortly after being released from San Quentin in March, Andrew Hall filed a motion in May to have his record expunged following his conviction in the 2018 shooting of Laudemer Arboleda at the end of a slow-speed car chase in Danville.
Hall’s service and training as a firefighter during his time in prison was the basis of the petition, which argued that he qualified to have his criminal record expunged under a state law that went into effect in 2021 with the goal of paving the way for incarcerated firefighters to pursue careers as professional firefighters upon their release.
Hall’s attorney argued Thursday morning that he believed his client’s situation was “exactly what that legislation was enacted for”, noting that the former CCCSO deputy was seeking to turn over a new leaf with a new career.
The prosecution contended that dismissing Hall’s conviction was “not in the interest of justice” given the gravity of the crime and its impact on Arboleda’s family.
After hearing from the defense and prosecution, Judge Julia Campins ultimately denied Hall’s petition.
“Given the severity of the offense and its impact on the community, the District Attorney’s Office opposed Hall’s petition for relief,” Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton said in a statement after the ruling. She noted that the request “if granted, would have various legal consequences regarding his parole status, disclosure requirements, and other legal implications”.
“The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting victims’ rights and ensuring justice for the Arboleda family and the community at large,” Becton said.
Arboleda’s family has been critical of Hall’s early release, as well as the lack of more serious charges for the fatal shooting of the 33-year-old with a history of mental health challenges.
According to the family, Arboleda got lost while looking for a property management office in Danville in his final hours, prompting a resident to report him as suspicious to police which resulted in the response and encounter that took his life.
“Our family lives with this pain and loss every day,” Arboleda’s family said in a statement read aloud in the courtroom.
Members of Arboleda’s family who were in attendance at Thursday’s court hearing declined to offer further statements in person, with family friend and NAMI Contra Costa CEO Gigi Crowder speaking on their behalf.
Crowder emphasized the fact that Hall had gone on to shoot and kill another man in Danville after Arboleda’s death – despite facing no charges in the 2020 shooting of Tyrell Wilson – noting a history of mental health challenges for both victims and calling for an alternative to police responses in cases of mental health crises.
“For someone to have done that twice is deplorable,” Crowder said.
Crowder called Hall’s petition for dismissal – having already been released from prison less than halfway through his six-year sentence – an insult to both victims’ families and the community at large.
Following a debrief with members of Arboleda’s family outside the A.F. Bray Courthouse in Martinez on Thursday morning, Crowder said that her next step would be calling Wilson’s mother to share the outcome of the hearing.
After that, Crowder said she would be continuing last-minute preparations for the grand opening of the African American Holistic Wellness and Resource Hub at 1020 East Tregallis Road in Antioch – which features a mural of Black people killed by local police, including Wilson’s image. The event is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday.
