Berkeley Man's Killer Sentenced To Prison

OAKLAND, CA — A rapper has been sentenced to 13 years in state prison for the fatal shooting of an unarmed Berkeley man outside of a nightclub in the heart of downtown Oakland three years ago.

At his trial in July, prosecutor Jimmie Wilson asked jurors to convict 33-year-old Billy Shaffer Jr., of Antioch, a convicted felon who has performed under the names Billy Bankroll and Wild Bill, of first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Connie Sowels III of Berkeley outside the Bella Ultra Lounge at 11th and Clay streets at 1:18 a.m. on Oct. 1, 2014.

But jurors found Shaffer not guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter and only convicted him of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter charge.

In their July 25 verdict, they also convicted Shaffer of personally using a firearm and being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.Alameda County Superior Court Judge Allan Hymer sentenced Shaffer on Friday.

Wilson alleged in his closing argument in the trial, which was packed with family members of friends of both Sowels and Shaffer that Shaffer was the aggressor in a fight outside the nightclub. Wilson said the fight began when Shaffer snatched a gold chain from Sowels' neck and said Shaffer shot and killed Sowels when Sowels, who wasn't armed, fought and tried to get the chain back.

But Katherine Isa, one of two defense attorneys who represented Shaffer, alleged that Sowels started the fight when the two men quarreled over a woman Shaffer was leaving the nightclub with. Isa said Shaffer acted in self-defense while he was prone on the ground while Sowels was straddling him and beating him up.

Isa told jurors Shaffer "reasonably believed he was in imminent danger of suffering great bodily injury or being killed."

Referring to Shaffer's 2010 conviction for possessing a gun he was not registered to own in Sacramento County, the defense attorney said, "Even an ex-felon with a gun has the right to defend himself when the elements of mutual combat are met, as they were in this case."

Sowels was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland after he was shot but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Shaffer was arrested 12 days after the shooting after police pulled him over for traffic violations.

Wilson said it might not have been wise for Sowels to try to get his gold chain back from Shaffer given the fact that Shaffer was armed with a gun but he told jurors, "You can't blame the victim for deciding to get his
property back."

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock