Career Criminal Convicted of Killing 14 Year Old Boy in San Lorenzo Crosswalk

A construction worker with a long criminal history has been convicted of second-degree murder and other charges for fatally hitting a 14-year-old boy crossing the street in San Lorenzo as he fled from Alameda County sheriff's deputies.

Sonny Anderson, 36, was also convicted of hit-and-run, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and evading police for killing San Lorenzo High School freshman Ivan Cruz at East 14th Street and Ashland Avenue in unincorporated Alameda County at about 6:20 p.m. on Nov. 14, 2014.

In addition, he was convicted of felony animal abuse for punching and kicking an Alameda County sheriff deputy's dog while he was being arrested.

Jurors deliberated for only about five hours before announcing their verdict against Anderson late Monday afternoon.

Prosecutor Jason Sjoberg said a deputy initially tried to stop a maroon 2001 Saturn later connected to Anderson for driving recklessly with a broken taillight near the corner of East 14th Street and 164th Avenue but he refused to stop and ran through stop signs and red lights trying to evade the deputy.

Anderson, who was high on methamphetamine, drove at high speeds on city streets, then drifted into the opposite lanes going the wrong way on East 14th Street, nearly causing two head-on collisions, Sjoberg said.

The deputy lost sight of the Saturn but then saw it fishtailing on East 14th Street just past Ashland Avenue. It had just hit Cruz of San Leandro as he was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk riding a Razor scooter, Sjoberg said.

A sheriff's deputy said Cruz was thrown 80 feet onto the road while Anderson kept going. Another deputy called for medical assistance and Cruz was taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley but he died about 30 minutes later.

Anderson, who had barricaded himself inside a garage, was arrested about 24 hours after the crime by deputies who used a police dog.

An unusual twist to Anderson's case in Alameda County Superior Court was that he didn't attend his trial because he was unhappy with his attorney, Darryl Billups, a veteran defense lawyer who previously worked as a prosecutor.

Anderson was brought to court for each day of his trial but before jurors were seated every morning he told Judge Roy Hashimoto that he didn't want to be present.

However, Anderson, whose criminal history dates back to 1999, was present in court when the jury announced its verdict.

Billups didn't contest many of the multiple charges against Anderson but told jurors that he should be convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter instead of second-degree murder.

Anderson has prior convictions for vehicle theft in 2012 and 2005, burglary in 2006, theft from a dependent adult and receiving stolen property in 2009 and two counts of animal abuse when he was 18-years-old for breaking into a Hayward petting zoo in 1999 and stabbing a pony, a goat, a chicken, a goose and two turkeys.

Sjoberg said Anderson faces "a very significant" state prison term when he's sentenced by Hashimoto on Sept. 26.

— Bay City News; Alameda County Booking Photo