OAKLAND — The suspect in a 2021 Oakland killing has accepted a plea deal and is set to be sentenced to 13 years in prison next month, court records show.
Lamarr Howard, 34, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Anza Washington, who was was shot in the back of the head around 10:50 p.m. Feb. 25, 2021 on the 1300 block of 102nd Avenue, in Oakland. Howard was identified through video surveillance and arrested two months after the slaying.
At Howard’s 2022 preliminary hearing, police testified that video surveillance showed Washington talking to some people in a stopped Nissan shortly before the shooting. Howard was then seen pulling up to the scene, getting out of his car, and shooting Howard, who had his back turned, authorities said.
The defense argued at the preliminary hearing that the video showed Washington was armed and “was looking to do harm that evening.”
Howard formally pleaded no contest to manslaughter on Aug. 18. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped murder and felony gun possession charges against him, court records show.
Howard remains in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin pending transfer to the state prison system.
Source: www.mercurynews.com