Martinez, California – On May 6th, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office reached a resolution in the 2021 murder of Arnold Marcel Hawkins and the attempted murder of Aaron Patterson. This murder was a seminal case in Contra Costa County regarding the California Racial Justice Act.
The defendants, 23-year-old Terryonn Deshawn Pugh, 25-year-old Eric James Windom, 25-year-old Keyshawn Malik McGee, and 23-year-old Trent Allen, were charged by the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office on a six-count felony complaint with enhancements in November 2021 (People v. Pugh, Windom, McGee, and Allen). On March 9th, 2021, the four defendants engaged in a shooting in the City of Antioch wherein they discharged firearms at a vehicle in a residential neighborhood. The barrage of bullets killed Arnold Hawkins and injured another person.
Unrelated to the shooting that killed Arnold Hawkins, a joint District Attorney’s Office/FBI investigation was initiated into allegations of police misconduct by officers in the Antioch Police Department and Pittsburg Police Department. During that separate investigation in early 2023, investigators found a trove of racist text messages exchanged by Antioch police officers. These messages revealed that while investigating the murder suspects that took the life of Arnold Hawkins, the officers were sending and receiving messages about the murder suspects that included racist slurs, images, and written descriptions. The text messages violated the California Racial Justice Act (RJA) — a law that prohibits bias, animus, and racially discriminatory language based on race, ethnicity, or national origin in charges, convictions, and sentences.
In March 2023, the District Attorney’s Office notified the court and the defense bar of the potential RJA violations as it related to open and adjudicated cases. Moreover, as part of the discovery process, the District Attorney’s Office disclosed investigative reports detailing incidents of racial bias and animus in the text messages sent and received by some members of the Antioch Police Department.
Having already filed a motion challenging disproportionate filings in murder cases under the RJA, the defendants filed a second challenge predicated upon the racial bias exhibited by the Antioch police officers investigating the murder case. After multiple hearings, the court dismissed the special circumstance allegations, as well as the gang and firearm enhancements on February 5th, 2024. The case was set for trial when a resolution was reached between the District Attorney’s Office and the defendants.
In resolving the case, the four defendants have entered pleas of no contest to the following:
- Terryonn Pugh: No contest on two counts of attempted murder and voluntary manslaughter – with an additional punishment for the use of a firearm. He will be sentenced in Martinez on May 8th, 2024, to 20 years in state prison.
- Eric Windom: No contest on one count of attempted murder and voluntary manslaughter — with an additional punishment for the use of a firearm. He will also serve a concurrent term for a robbery that is unrelated to this case. Windom will be sentenced in Martinez on May 8th, 2024, to 19 years in state prison.
- Trent Allen: No contest on one count of attempted murder and voluntary manslaughter — with an additional punishment for the use of a firearm. He will also serve a concurrent term for an unrelated robbery. Allen will be sentenced in Martinez on May 10th, 2024, to 19 years in state prison.
- Keyshawn McGee: No contest on one count of attempted murder and voluntary manslaughter — with an additional punishment for the use of a firearm in both the murder and voluntary manslaughter charges. McGee will be sentenced in Martinez on May 10th, 2024, to 13 years, 8 months in state prison.
District Attorney Diana Becton said, “Seeking justice for these serious offenses was complicated by violations to the Racial Justice Act. These lengthy prison sentences, ensure accountability and promote community safety. Hopefully, the outcome will help to heal the loss the victims and survivors experienced.”
Case No. 01001976380 | The People of the State of California v. Pugh, Windom, McGee, and Allen
Editors Note:
Leaked text Messages were aimed to assist Murder Cases which ultimately had little to no impact in the outcome as stated in the press release with regards to the racial justice act:
- Oct 5, 2023 – Contra Costa Supervisors Appoint Two Co-Directors to Lead Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice
- May 23, 2023 – Contra Costa County Looks to Approve $5.515 Billion Budget
- April 17, 2023 – Updated: Second DA Report Leaked Includes Antioch Police Text Messages
- April 13, 2023 – Contra Costa DA Releases Antioch Police Text Messages
Antioch Police Announce 7 Arrests and Recovery of 40 Firearms in Joint Investigation with Oakland Police
On Thursday, the Antioch Police Department, in partnership with the Oakland Police Department announced the results of operation Windstar in a press conference in the City of Antioch.
The operation began on Jan 12, 2020 in the City of Oakland and continued through April 1,2021 with Oakland Police Chief LaRonne Armstrong at one point during the press conference apologizing for the gang activity going into Antioch.
Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton spoke at the press conference highlighting they will prosecute.
Antioch Police Chief Tammany Brooks announced the arrests of:
- Charles Bolden Sr. – 42 (murder/conspiracy, gang enhancements)
- Charles Bolden Jr. – 19 (murder/conspiracy, gang enhancements
- D’Marco Lindsay – 19 (murder/conspiracy, gang enhancements
- Terryonn Push – 20 (attempted murder w/GBI conspiracy, gang enhancements)
- Trent Allen – 20 (attempted murder w/GBI conspiracy, gang enhancements
- Eric Windom – 21 (attempted murder w/GBI conspiracy, gang enhancements
- Keyshawn McGee – 22 (attempted murder w/GBI conspiracy, gang enhancements)
In total, there were 50 contacts/arrests which included 14 juveniles.
According to Chief Brooks, the multi-agency investigation resulted in 1 solved homicide, 4 attempted homicides in Antioch along with 1 homicide and 6 attempted homicides in Oakland. Combined, there were a total of 9 shooting incidents and the investigation resulted in the recovery of 40 firearms including 15 “ghost guns” /non-serialized guns.
Chief Armstrong apologized to the City of Antioch.
“I must say, I owe this city an apology that the group and gang violence that started in Oakland has now fund itself in the city of Antioch,” said Armstrong. “We continue to be focused to try and eradicate both the CASE gang and the ENT gang. They have been the focus for violence in the city of Oakland for far too many years.
He further continued by stating that by looking at the table, it was ironic to see weapons that should be used in a war but these are being used in the community against people and human beings. — More Info
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