15-year plea deal in killing of three

An Oakland man accused of killing three people, including a witness in a criminal case, was offered a 15-year sentence by Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price in a plea deal Thursday — instead of the potential 75years-to-life sentence he faced under his original charges.

The negotiated terms were so unusual that Alameda County Superior Court Judge Mark McCannon said he needed more time to consider whether he would sign off on the drastically reduced sentence, an attorney representing the defendant said.

Delonzo Logwood, 31, had just turned 18 at the time he was arrested in 2008 in connection with three fatal shootings.

Thursday’s plea deal stipulated that Logwood enter a no-contest plea to voluntary manslaughter and a gun enhancement for shooting and killing Eric Ford, 22, on July 1, 2008, according to defense attorney David Briggs, who represents Logwood.

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, who negotiated the deal, was elected on a platform that promised to give younger defenders a break. Price is aligned with a national movement of progressives attempting to reduce mass incarceration and push for reforms at the county level by seeking top prosecutor seats. She has also pledged to resentence people facing life without parole, and to prosecute police misconduct. One of her first actions, after taking office, was to reopen investigations for eight police shootings and in-custody deaths, including two cases more than a decade old.

A representative for the District Attorney’s Office was not immediately available for comment.