No contest plea in Oakland killing

An Oakland man who once faced three murder charges pleaded no contest to a single reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter, according to a statement from the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.

Delonzo Logwood, 33, has been jailed since 2015 after he was accused of shooting and killing Eric Ford at an Oakland gas station on July 1, 2008. On Thursday, a judge accepted his no contest plea to voluntary manslaughter in place of the murder charge in Ford’s case.

“Mr. Logwood, who has maintained his innocence since he was charged in 2015, has been incarcerated in Santa Rita County Jail for eight years ,” the statement read.

A plea deal with prosecutors from District Attorney Pamela Price’s office would sentence Logwood to 12 years in state prison, but Judge Mark McCannon won’t indicate whether he approves of the sentencing until next month. It is unclear whether Price’s office wants credit for time served awaiting trial.

Authorities have said Logwood killed Ford in a murder-for-hire plot, a story based on statements by a witness identified by the District Attorney’s Office as “D.L.”

Logwood had previously been charged with murder in the 2008 slayings of Richard Carter and Zaire Washington, but McCannon granted a motion to dismiss those two counts last month, the District Attorney’s Office said.

On July 31, 2008, Carter, 30, was shot dead when two men tried to rob and carjack him on MacArthur Boulevard. D.L. was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Carter’s death and attempting to kill a witness to the shooting. His claim of Logwood’s involvement contradicted known evidence, including the time of day and location of the shooting, according to the District Attorney’s Office motion to toss Logwood’s charges.

Carter’s mother spoke out in February when she learned that Logwood’s murder charge in the killing of her son was being dropped. “It’s wrong. It’s unfair. It’s unjust,” she said. She asked not to be identified by name out of fear for her safety. “I’m angry, I’m upset, but what can I do? Who can I talk to? I wish I knew people in high places.”

Just a month before Carter’s death, Washington, 24, was gunned down on his front porch on MacArthur on June 30. At the time Washington was killed, he was cooperating with prosecutors on an earlier shooting case in which he was the victim and Logwood’s brother was the suspect.

But four witnesses to Washington’s shooting have given descriptions of the shooter that resemble D.L. more than Logwood, according to the District Attorney’s Office filing.

“I’m upset, but what can I do? ... I wish I knew people in high places.” Murder victim Richard Carter’s mother