The shooting, along with other recent gun violence, has prompted AlCo DA to reinstate mandatory minimum sentences in gun cases.
A 27-year-old Oakland man suspected of fatally shooting beloved Laney College football coach John Beam last week has been charged with murder, the Alameda County District Attorney said Monday.
The charge against Cedric Irving Jr. comes with an enhancement that the suspect personally discharged a firearm, which could bring a sentence of 50 years to life in prison, District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said.
Authorities haven’t released information about a motive in the shooting. Irving played football at Skyline High School but did not play for Beam, according to Oakland Interim Police Chief James Beere. The chief described the shooting as a “very targeted incident.”
Irving was not a student or employee at Laney but was known to loiter on or near the campus, officials said. A firearm found in Irving’s possession was the same caliber as rounds found at the shooting scene, according to police.
Dickson said that Beam’s shooting at Laney College and another shooting at the Skyline High School campus last week, along with frequent gun violence in Oakland has prompted her to reinstate mandatory minimum sentences in gun cases in Alameda County.
“I think it’s important to talk about accountability as it relates to gun violence,” Dickson said at a press conference Monday afternoon in announcing charges against Irving. “This is my opportunity to try something that we’ve tried before, to see if we can put a dent in some of this violent crime that is related to gun violence in our community.”
Beam’s tenure at Laney College was featured on the Netflix documentary “Last Chance U” in 2020 and included a state championship. He came to Laney in 2004 as an assistant coach and became head coach in 2012. Over the course of his coaching career, Beam developed more than 30 National Football League players, including seven Super Bowl participants, Peralta Community College District officials said.
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