Three men charged again in ’21 slaying of security guard

Three men have been re-charged with the 2021 murder of security guard Kevin Nishita, three weeks after the final suspect in the case was finally arrested, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price announced Friday.

Nishita, a retired police officer working as a private security guard, was shot in Oakland while trying to prevent three men from stealing a KRON-TV reporter’s camera. He later died from his injuries. Two of his alleged killers — Hershel Hale, now 26, and Shadihia Mitchell, now 27 — were arrested shortly after, but the third man — Laron Gilbert, now 29 — evaded arrest for two years.

The three were initially charged together in 2021, while police were still searching for Gilbert. Meanwhile, the cases against Hale and Mitchell moved forward.

Late last month, Gilbert was arrested near Kansas City, Mo., and sent back to Alameda County. The previous charges were dismissed, and Price recharged all three men with murder, attempted robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, her office announced Friday.

All three men will also face gang and gun enhancements, Price said at a Friday press conference. The new charges mean they will be tried together, she added.

The three were initially charged under Price’s predecessor, Nancy O’Malley, in 2021, when police were still searching for Gilbert, according to Price. Previously, prosecutors alleged it was Mitchell who fatally shot Nishita.

That allegation was dropped in December 2023. Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods told the Chronicle at the time that evidence pointed to Gilbert being the shooter.

Price said at the Friday press conference that the previous prosecutors “made mistakes” about who killed Nishita, but that the new charges were “consistent with the actual evidence in the case.”

“At my direction, our team reevaluated the evidence, discovered those mistakes, and we’ve resubmitted the charges to ensure that the men whom we believe committed these crimes will be fully accountable,” Price said. “We want to assure Oakland residents that this type of violence and reckless violence on our streets will not be tolerated.”

Price did not say who her office would argue shot Nishita and said she would not comment on the facts of the case.

On top of killing Nishita, the three are also accused of robbing two other victims.

Gilbert, Mitchell and Hale are scheduled to appear in court on March 8 to enter a plea, prosecutors said. If convicted and sentenced on all counts, each man faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to Price’s office.