Man accepts plea deal for fatal 2020 shooting

He will be given a 19-year sentence

A 43-yearold Oakland resident has taken a plea deal on charges that he killed a man who'd allegedly taken $5,000 from his relative, court records show.

Willie Pope pleaded no contest to manslaughter with a gun enhancement, and in exchange prosecutors dropped a murder charge against him. He is scheduled to be formally sentenced to 19 years in state prison on June 6, court records show.

Pope was charged with murder in the death of 25-year-old Sean Phillip

Collins, who was shot and killed about 12:45 p.m. on March 15, 2020, outside a store on the the 9700 block of Edes Avenue. Pope was identified as a suspect in part by the relative who complained that Collins owed her $5,000, according to court records.

During Pope's 2021 preliminary hearing, Pope's family member testified that she'd dated Collins — who went by the nickname “Gunna” — and that he took $5,000 from her. She testified he'd offered her marijuana for the missing money but was ducking her attempts to collect.

On the day of the killing, the woman claimed that she and Pope went to a convenience store near Collins' home and that she was nervous because she'd recently slashed his tires. She said that Pope went into the store to get cigars and that she was “entertaining my daughter” while he left but noticed a “commotion” outside as they were driving off.

The woman's statement was different from her recorded police interrogation, where she told officers that “W. Pope” was responsible and admitted to hearing several gunshots after driving to the area, according to prosecutors. At the preliminary hearing she at first invoked her right to avoid self-incrimination and testified only after prosecutors gave her immunity from prosecution.

Pope's attorney, Alanna Coopersmith, argued at the preliminary hearing that Det. Hector Jimenez — who is now under criminal investigation for two on-duty fatal shootings — had coerced the statements out of the woman by telling her she could either be a suspect or a witness. Judge Rhonda Burgess said she carefully considered the argument but denied it, saying that the woman seemed more concerned about being labeled a police informant than with being arrested.

“There's a different between pressure and coercion,” Burgess said at the hearing.

After the preliminary hearing, Pope's case remained in limbo for two years with no definitive trial date set. Pope agreed to plead no contest this year and entered his plea on May 9, court records show.