OAKLAND, CA - A 19-year-old man was convicted Wednesday of second-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder for fatally shooting a 21-year-old woman in East Oakland on New Year's Eve in 2013.
Jurors deliberated for several hours before announcing their verdict against Dashawn Cooper, who was only 17 at the time, for the shooting in the 2000 block of 22nd Avenue in Oakland's San Antonio neighborhood at about 9:15 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2013, that killed Ashlee Walker, who was a college student and fast-food restaurant worker.
Prosecutor Patrick Moriarty told jurors in his opening statement in Cooper's trial that it's not clear why Cooper fired into a PT Cruiser in which Walker was a passenger but said there was "more than enough evidence" against Cooper to convict him.
Find out what's happening in Piedmontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Moriarty said Walker and three friends drove to the area to buy marijuana from a dealer they knew but for some reason Cooper, who they didn't know, came up to their car and started shooting.
Find out what's happening in Piedmontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Moriarty said Walker's three friends, who weren't injured in the shooting and testified in Cooper's trial, "have no idea why this happened." Moriarty said much of the evidence against Cooper comes from three of his friends who told police he admitted to them afterward that he was the shooter.
Cooper's attorney Robert Landeros said in his opening statement that the three men aren't credible because they all had an incentive to cooperate with the police and say that Cooper was the shooter since they faced potential legal problems of their own. Landeros also told jurors that the three people who were with Walker in the PT Cruiser wouldn't be able to identify the shooter.
Cooper was prosecuted as an adult even though he was only 17 at the time of the shooting. In addition to second-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder, Cooper was convicted of three counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm and shooting into an occupied vehicle. He faces a lengthy state prison term when he's sentenced by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Rhonda Burgess on Aug. 26.
--Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock
