Killer taunts victim’s family during sentencing

Troy Seales turned around in his seat in the courtroom, smiling, winking and once even making a kissing face toward the family of the man he was convicted of killing.

A jury found Seales, 30, guilty in April of the first-degree murder of Deandre Adams on Aug 25, 2017, around 10:20 a.m. Adams was shot several times as he drove on Olive Street between 88th and 90th avenues in Oakland. After being shot, he staggered out of his car, leaving a trial of blood, until he made his way to a driveway. An off-duty emergency medical technician tried to help him, but Adams died at Highland Hospital.

After a two-day hearing this week over a motion for a new trial, which was denied by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy, Seales was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.

After each charge in which Murphy added more and more time to Seales’ fate in prison, Adams’ family in the courtroom could be heard audibly breathing a sigh of relief. Some wiped away tears, and when the final count of 50 years was announced, some said “thank you” to the judge.

But Seales, sitting next to his attorney Todd Bequette, would look over as the sentence was being handed down, and taunt the Adams family. When he was escorted out of the courtroom by the court bailiff, he continued his smiling. The Adams family members began saying something back, but prosecutor Butch Ford told them, “It’s not worth it.”

The motion for a new trial was made because supposed new evidence came to light, including information that one of the women Seales was romantically involved with had information about the gun he was carrying that day. But Judge Murphy didn’t find the evidence was enough for a new trial and denied the motion.

During the trial, it was revealed that Seales’ arrest occurred after an ex-girlfriend gave up information on him. His ex-girlfriend got angry that he had been cheating on her with the mother of his child, according to the prosecution. So, she walked into the Oakland police department, with her dog she had also named Troy, and told police information that helped tie him to the crime, Ford said.

Another man charged in the case, Depree Riley, who allegedly had an ongoing feud with Adams, has his case pending because of a question of his mental health.