Oakland Bartender Faces Murder In Fatal Attack With Baseball Bat

OAKLAND, CA – Family members of a bartender at an upscale restaurant in Oakland's Uptown district cried today when a judge ordered him to stand trial on a murder charge for allegedly killing a man with a baseball bat last October.

A defense lawyer for Juan Espino, 29, argued at Espino's preliminary hearing that he should only stand trial on a manslaughter charge for the death of 42-year-old transient Cooky York last Oct. 22.

But Alameda County Superior Court Judge Scott Patton said there wasn't evidence to support the defense's contention that Espino acted in the heat of passion when he allegedly hit York with a wooden bat in the 1900
block of Telegraph Avenue, near the Fox Theater, at 4:18 p.m. on Oct. 22.

Fox Theater employee Kenny McCain testified that he saw York, who he described as being about 6 feet 2 inches tall, get into a heated argument with a young woman driving a BMW SUV and he pounded on her vehicle and shouted obscenities.

McCain said the woman drove off, but came back a short time later with a man he later identified as Espino.

McCain said Espino and the woman, who authorities said is his girlfriend and the mother of his child, had "a verbal altercation" with York, and York walked toward them, but he didn't have any weapons in his hands and
Espino and the woman then walked to Flora, the nearby restaurant where Espino worked.

McCain said York turned around and walked away but Espino came out of Flora with a baseball bat, approached York from behind and struck him in the back of his head with the bat without saying a word.

McCain described the blow as "an upward strike" and Patton clarified that the motion "was like chopping wood as opposed to hitting a baseball."

McCain said York "dropped to the ground immediately" after he was hit.

Oakland police Officer Michael Jaeger wrote in a probable cause statement that York became unconscious and died a short time later at Highland Hospital in Oakland.

Jaeger said Espino "provided a statement of his involvement" when investigators interviewed him.

About 20 family members and friends of Espino attended his hearing today. He's scheduled to return to court on May 14 to have his trial date set.

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