2 Suspects Charged with Murder for December Shooting of Wheelchair-Bound Man in Berkeley

Two young San Leandro men were charged today with murder, robbery and assault with a firearm for the fatal shooting in December of a wheelchair-bound man in Berkeley and wounding a woman who was with him. Khalil Phanor, 18, and Carl Young, 20, have been charged for the fatal shooting of 36-year-old Kamahl Middleton in a parking lot near San Pablo and University avenues at about 9:45 p.m. on Dec. 29.

Phanor and Young are also charged with the special circumstance of committing a murder during the course of a robbery, which carries a potential penalty of life in prison without parole or the death penalty. The assault with a firearm charge stems from shooting the arm of a woman who was with Middleton but survived her injuries. Prosecutors allege that Phanor was the suspect who shot Middleton and the female victim.

Young was scheduled to be arraigned at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland this afternoon but Phanor remains at large. Berkeley police said they also arrested a 17-year-old suspect in the shooting last Thursday and he is being held at the Alameda County Juvenile Hall in San Leandro. Prosecutors weren’t immediately available for comment on whether charges have been filed against the 17-year-old.

Berkeley police Officer Jesse Grant said in a probable cause statement filed in court that investigators developed information that indicated Young as a suspect in the shooting and he was identified in a lineup as a person who participated in the robbery. Grant said that after Young was arrested at his home on Mitchell Avenue in San Leandro last Thursday he admitted his role in the crimes. According to Middleton’s LinkedIn profile, he graduated from San Francisco State University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing.

Middleton said in his profile that he had been chief marketing officer for Natural Energy Company since 1996. He said the company made natural energy drinks and his duties were “foreseeing various marketing activities which include distribution, advertising, research, sales, product development, customer service and pricing.”

By Bay City News

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