Oakland (KRON) A judge today found an Oakland man guilty of first-degree murder for fatally shooting another man in East Oakland two years ago.
The ruling by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Stuart Hing at the end of a non-jury trial means that Lamar Shaw, 21, faces 50 years to life in state prison when Hing sentences him next month for shooting 26-year-old Xzavier Johnson near the corner of High Street and Lyon Avenue near Brookdale Park at about 10:20 a.m. on July 5, 2014.
In addition to murder, Hing found Shaw guilty of an enhancement clause that he used a gun to cause Johnson’s death.
Prosecutor Peter McGuiness said in his closing argument in Shaw’s trial last week that Johnson posed “absolutely no threat” to Shaw when Shaw fired six shots at him.
After Johnson was hit by four gunshots, he rolled down a hill but managed to get into a car that was driven by his girlfriend. But he was pronounced dead a short time later after they stopped near the corner of 27th Avenue and Foothill Boulevard to wait for paramedics, police said.
Shaw admitted during his trial that he shot Johnson but said he did so in self-defense because he felt his life was in danger.
Shaw said, “I didn’t want to kill him but it was something I had to do.”
But McGuiness said he believes Shaw “was in no fear whatsoever” because he and his cousin were armed with guns and Johnson didn’t have a weapon.
The prosecutor alleged that Shaw “made a decision to escalate whatever verbal argument there was” and “chose to kill over something as minor as disrespect.”
McGuiness said Shaw continued to shoot Johnson even after Johnson was on the ground and struck him in his upper arm and torso.
After the shooting, Oakland police served a search warrant at Shaw’s apartment at 2421 High St., less than a block from the shooting site, and found a Beretta .40-caliber handgun believed to be the murder weapon, police said.
Shaw turned himself in to police early the morning after the shooting and was arrested.
Shaw’s attorney, David Byron, asked Hing to either find Shaw not guilty or only convict him of the lesser charge of manslaughter, arguing that Shaw thought that Johnson had threatened him.
Byron also said a psychologist hired by the defense testified that Shaw’s ability to make good decisions was hampered by his withdrawal from an anti-anxiety medication shortly before the shooting.
McGuiness said he hopes Shaw’s conviction “will provide some closure” to Johnson’s family members, who were present for Hing’s ruling today. They are expected to speak at Shaw’s sentencing, McGuiness said.