District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe will not seek death for a third-strike gangmember charged with murder and other crimes in the “Sunny Day” operation that saw indictments of 16 people a year ago for a range of crimes over a two-year period and left nine potentially facing capital trials.
Raymond Louis Bradford, 28, was the last defendant awaiting a death decision in his case. Wagstaffe previously announced the same conclusion for eight others also charged with murder and gang enhancements but held out on Bradford because of his three-strike status and reported position as a leader in the group.
He is charged with the murder of Stoney Gipson in San Francisco on Oct. 7, 2012, and attempted murder for a Belmont drive-by shooting.
On Thursday, Wagstaffe said he believes life in prison without parole is appropriate in his case.
“Despite the very violent record, our evidence does not establish him as an actual killer in any of the cases,” he said.
Bradford’s defense attorney Connie O’Brien did not return a call for comment.
Wagstaffe also cited the nature of the cases which are essentially gang conflicts. The crimes reportedly began when the Da Vill and Sac Street gangs of East Palo Alto teamed up against the Taliban gang of East Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Between 2012 and 2013, the war allegedly included four murders in East Palo Alto and San Francisco, a highway shooting in Belmont, a robbery, witness dissuasion, drug trafficking, bribery, firearms possession and conspiracy.
The indictments came after an 18-month long investigation and a two-month criminal grand jury which was eight times longer than any other ever conducted in San Mateo County.
The investigation, nicknamed “Operation Sunny Day” in reference to the code phrase used by gangmembers to indicate a completed murder, nabbed 16 defendants ranging in age from 19 to 28.
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Along with Bradford, those arrested were Nina Mehrnoosh Cragg, 24, of Palo Alto; Roberto Busto-Montes, 24, of East Palo Alto; Emmanuel Hyland, 25, of East Palo Alto, Ralph Vernon Fields Jr., 27, of East Palo Alto; Tyrone Love-Lopez, 22, of East Palo Alto; Eric Valencia Vargas, 20, of East Palo Alto; Marvin Jake Ware, 26, of East Palo Alto, Donte Demon Jordan, 19, of East Palo Alto; Roshawn Bickham, 25 of Hayward; LaQuisha Walker, 28, of East Palo Alto; Leonard James Gaines, 21, of East Palo Alto; Rodney Levence Mitchell, 22, of Newark; Robert Wheller Jr., 26, of Hayward; Jerry Coneal III, 19, of Menlo Park and Miguel Angel Rivera Jr., 23, of East Palo Alto.
The alleged crime spree began in September 2012, when Da Vill gangmembers Bradford, Vargas and Ware reportedly shot into another car on southbound Highway 101 near the Ralston Avenue exit and hit two passengers.
Bradford is also charged with the attempted robbery in a Middlefield Road jewelry store heist that ended with the clerk pulling out a shotgun.
Operation Sunny Day also included the deaths of Christopher Baker, 21, in East Palo Alto on Oct. 5, 2012, Jonathan Neri Alzacar on Jan. 14, 2013, in East Palo Alto and Lamont Darnell Coleman, 21, on Jan. 16, 2013, in East Palo Alto.
The criminal prosecution is considered so massive in scope and defendants that the county’s private defender program asked San Mateo County to pony up to $5 million in extra funding from excess property tax reserves.
Bradford is in custody without bail. Walker is free on $500,000 bail and the others are held on bail amounts ranging from $500,000 to none.
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