Livermore Man Charged in Double Murder, Could Face Death Penalty

A Livermore man has been charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances for the shooting deaths in March of two men that resulted from an illegal gun sale, police and prosecutors said today.

James Wear, 28, was arrested on a probation violation at about 9 p.m. on March 1, roughly four and a half hours after two men were shot on Altamont Creek Drive near Winding Stream Drive in Livermore.

Livermore resident Ryan Rossknecht, 22, was pronounced dead at the scene and Brandon Lowell, a 29-year-old Manteca resident who formerly lived in Livermore, died a short time later at a hospital.

Wear, a food server who has a prior conviction for grand theft, was held on the probation violation until Tuesday, when prosecutors filed the murder charges against him after what Livermore police described as “a thorough and complete investigation.”

He’s being held without bail and was arraigned this morning in Alameda County Superior Court in Pleasanton.

In addition to two counts of murder and the special circumstance of committing multiple murders, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged Wear with being a felon in possession of a gun and possession of heroin for sale, as police said he was in possession of more than two ounces of tar heroin when he was arrested.

He could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death sentence if he’s convicted.

At the time of the shooting, Livermore police said Rossknecht and Lowell were killed in an apparent dispute over contraband.

• Police: Arrest Made in Livermore Double Homicide
• UPDATE: 1 Detained, 2 Dead in Apparent Shooting in Livermore

Detective Glen Robbins wrote in a probable cause statement that Wear told police Lowell wanted to buy a gun from Rossknecht but during the transaction the two men got into an argument and he saw Rossknecht shoot Lowell before Lowell managed to wrestle the gun away and shoot Rossknecht.

But Robbins said Wear’s statement “was not consistent” with information police got from his father, Gregory Wear, and evidence that was located at the scene.

Wear sped away from the shooting scene when witnesses confronted him and showed up a short time later at his father’s house in Stockton with bloody shoes, according to Robbins.

Wear told his father that he had shot a man in Livermore after the man had shot his friend, Robbins said.

Wear then left his father’s house and officers who “pinged” his cellphone found him in the area of Bluebell Drive and Sunflower Court in Livermore, according to Robbins.

Wear resisted arrest but was apprehended by four officers after a police dog bit him, the detective said.

Robbins said he believes Wear is responsible for the deaths of Rossknecht and Lowell based on his investigation, Wear’s actions, witness statements, forensic analysis, ballistic evidence, digital evidence, video surveillance and evidence at the scene.

--Bay City News

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