Prosecutor Argues Man is Guilty in Botched Marijuana Robbery in Alameda

A scheme by three men to steal marijuana from a man at an Alameda apartment complex three years ago was poorly planned, a prosecutor and a defense attorney agreed today. But prosecutor Patrick Moriarty and defense attorney James Giller differed on whether Charles Kimbrough, one of the three suspects, is responsible for the death of 32-year-old William Adrian Falcon Sapp during the attempted robbery at the Summer House Apartments at Buena Vista Avenue and Poggi Street on April 20, 2011.

Moriarty told jurors in his opening statement in Kimbrough’s trial in Alameda County Superior Court that he should be convicted of murder even though he didn’t fire a gun because he participated in an attempted robbery that resulted in Sapp’s death.

Moriarty said, “Those actions make Mr. Kimbrough responsible for the death of Mr. Sapp.” The prosecutor said Sapp, who lived at a warehouse loft in Oakland, had a duffel bag of marijuana worth $1,550 when he was killed.

But Giller said Kimbrough, 32, should be found not guilty of murder because, “Nothing was ever taken and this robbery never came to fruition.” Moriarty said Christopher Donaldson, 25, set the plot in motion by contacting Sapp through Craigslist, as Sapp grew marijuana legally for medical marijuana clubs and offered marijuana for sale. But Moriarty said Donaldson didn’t intend to buy marijuana from Sapp but instead arranged for Kimbrough and a third man, Richard Ezell, 25, to rob Sapp at the apartment complex.

However, Moriarty said Sapp fought back against Kimbrough and Ezell and Ezell shot and killed him. Donaldson was convicted of first-degree murder on June 11 and faces at least 26 years to life in state prison when he’s sentenced on Friday.

Earlier this year Ezell and Kimbrough both pleaded no contest to second-degree murder for their roles in the death of Sapp in an agreement with prosecutors that called for them to get sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison in return for testifying against Donaldson.

Ezell kept his part of the bargain by testifying against Donaldson during his trial but Kimbrough refused to testify so his plea agreement was thrown out and he’s now undergoing a trial at which he faces the possibility of being convicted of first-degree murder. Moriarty said Kimbrough “brought a fake gun to a very poorly planned robbery.” But he said Sapp, who was armed with a real gun, fought back when Kimbrough tried to rob him and was beating Kimbrough when the two men squared off.

However, Sapp’s gun fell to the ground when he fought with Kimbrough and Ezell picked up the weapon and fired a single shot that went into Sapp’s arm and through his heart, killing him, Moriarty said. The fatal shooting was “a horrific ending to this perfect storm,” he said. Giller said it’s Sapp’s own fault that he got killed, saying that the only reason that Ezell shot him is that Sapp had grabbed Kimbrough’s gun, which Sapp didn’t know was fake, and pointed it directly at Ezell.

Ezell also didn’t know that the gun being help by Sapp wasn’t real and was “scared to death” because he thought he would be shot, Giller said. The defense attorney also suggested that Sapp may have planned to rob Kimbrough, Ezell and Donaldson.

Giller said Sapp beat “the living daylights” out of Kimbrough by beating him in the head with Kimbrough’s fake gun and Kimbrough had to get 27 stitches in his forehead when he was treated at Highland Hospital in Oakland after the incident.

—By Bay City News