|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Three men charged in connection with the shooting death of Oakland Police Officer Tuan Le last Friday, including one suspect arrested in Livermore, are facing a multitude of charges, according to documents from the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office filed Thursday.
Le, 36, was shot multiple times in the early morning hours Friday while responding to a burglary call at a cannabis dispensary in the 400 block of Embarcadero. Police said Le was working undercover and was shot as multiple suspects tried to get away. He died at a hospital at 8:44 a.m. that day.
Le, a four-year veteran of the department, is survived by his wife and mother. He was the 54th Oakland police officer to die in the line of duty in the department’s history
Two men with lengthy criminal histories are being charged for the murder of Le — Mark Sanders, 27, and Allen Brown, 28. A third man, Sebron Ray Russell, is being charged with second-degree burglary for his alleged role in the lethal heist.
Sanders was arrested Tuesday in Livermore and Brown was arrested Sunday in Chico, police said. Both were arraigned Thursday along with Russell. Additional details about Tracy resident Sanders’ arrest in Livermore have not yet been revealed.
Sanders is being charged with 72 felonies, the most serious of which is for the alleged murder of a police officer with special allegations of shooting from a vehicle in a “drive-by” murder, along with multiple weapons-related charges.
Prosecutors allege that Sanders committed a crime of great violence that showed “a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness” and that he is a “serious danger to society.”
Alameda District Attorney Pamela Price on Wednesday said her office would pursue a life sentence without the possibility of parole for Sanders.
Allen also faces charges of murder of a police officer in a drive-by shooting with cruelty, viciousness or callousness, and both are being charged with allegedly being in possession of a “large” amount of contraband, though the documents do not specify what contraband.
Sanders is also charged that he allegedly “knew and reasonably should have known” that Le was an on-duty police officer, though the Oakland Police Department said that Le was working undercover that night in an unmarked vehicle.
Russell is charged with 22 felonies, including second-degree burglary of the dispensary in question, which is located near Jack London Square and owned by Guansan Li, according to prosecutors.
The charging documents of all three include special circumstances for being on parole or probation and mention the criminal past of each defendant.
Sanders was convicted in 2015 for voluntary manslaughter and received a wardship term, which means he was declared a ward of the state as a juvenile and was overseen by the probation department.
Brown’s criminal past is brought up in the seventh count of the charges, alleging that his previous convictions as either a juvenile or adult were “numerous and of increasing seriousness.”
As for Russell, the documents outline four prior convictions in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2022 for second-degree burglary (twice), evading an officer and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Le’s death spurred an outpouring of condolences from police forces all over the state and Oakland police launched an extensive search for the alleged perpetrators, culminating in several arrests over the New Year’s weekend.
Interim Oakland Police Chief Darren Allison said Wednesday that he is not going to release any other names of current suspects at this time in an effort to maintain the integrity of the case. Allison said that Le’s handcuffs were used to detain “one of the arrested individuals.”
“Speaking as the elected district attorney of Alameda County, I will leverage the full weight of my office against these people who behave ruthlessly and wantonly murdered an officer of the law, who gave his life to protect our community against those who would do harm to us,” Price said at the press conference.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao was also at the press conference and said that Oaklanders are united in their mourning of Le and that “swift action” will be taken to hold those responsible accountable.
We’ll see. DA Price doesn’t have a great record on the charges she brings. If three strikes exists for any of these men I hope she sends her best team and throws the book at them
Her remark after the shooting though was, I quote, sympathies with “the Town.” The is no town , just cities. If there’s a move afoot too recall Price I hope it gets a serious look.
These career criminals deserve the death penalty. Voluntary manslaughter as a juvenile with a slap on the wrist? Pathetic.