DA passes on charges in Orinda homicides
Suspects, victim from Marin City
MARTINEZ The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office has declined to charge any of the five suspects arrested in connection with the Halloween shooting in an Airbnbrented Orinda mansion that left five people dead and several more injured.
The suspects had been identified as Lebraun Tyree Wallace, 28, of San Mateo; Jaquez Deshawn Sweeney, 20, of Marin City; Jason D. Iles, 20, of Marin City; Shamron Joshua Mitchell, 30, of Antioch; and Devin Isiah Williamson, 20, of Vallejo. They were arrested last week after authorities served warrants in Marin City, Vallejo, Antioch and San Mateo.
All five people arrested in connection with the shooting are expected to be released from jail. Sweeney, listed as a jail inmate Monday morning, was no longer in custody by Monday afternoon, according to public records. The other four defendants remain jailed as of 6 p.m. Monday.
A sheriff spokesman said Monday that the district attorney “wants more investigation done,” without elaboration. In a statement to the media Monday afternoon, a district attorney spokesman did not explain the decision.
“Today the District Attorney’s Office met with members of the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff to review the Orinda Halloween shooting incident. No criminal charges are being filed at this time against any individual,” office spokesman Scott Alonso said. “The investigation is ongoing.”
Alonso would not comment on whether the defendants had been cleared of criminal wrongdoing and implied the case may come back for filing at a later date. There is no statute of limitations on murder charges.
Jimmy Lee, a spokesman for the sheriff, said in a written statement that the investigation is far from over.
“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,” Lee said. “The entire investigation is ongoing as is common in these types of complex cases.”
The district attorney’s decision comes just days after Contra Costa County
Sheriff David Livingston appeared at a press conference, handed out photos of the five men and described them as participants in a conspiracy that resulted in the five killings.
Williamson was arrested as an accessory, police said. The other four were arrested on suspicion of murder and conspiracy.
Multiple law enforcement sources have described the incident as a shootout between multiple groups of people but declined to provide specific details. Police sources said early on that the investigation involved probes of gangs in San Francisco, Marin City and other parts of the Bay Area.
The victims have been identified as Tiyon Farley, 22, of Antioch; Omar Taylor, 24, of Pittsburg; Raymon Hill Jr., 23, of San Francisco/Oakland; Javlin County, 29, of Sausalito/ Richmond; and Oshiana Tompkins, 19, of Vallejo/ Hercules.
Police have described the shooting and its aftermath as “chaotic” and “a bloodbath,” saying multiple shooters were involved and mass panic broke out after the initial shots. In addition to those killed at the party, attended by more than 100 people, three suffered gunshot wounds and others were injured after jumping 30 feet from the balcony to escape the chaotic scene.
Livingston said Friday that two of the victims — Hill and County — were armed and suggested they may have “played a role” in the shooting.
In calls to police, witnesses described victims lying in pools of blood inside the house. Other callers reported partygoers jumping off balconies and hiding in closets to escape the gunfire, according to police call logs. One woman was badly injured when she jumped off a second-story balcony, police said.