A 21-year-old man named by authorities as one of two people responsible for the killing of Zontee Jones in West Berkeley in February was arrested in San Diego earlier this month.
According to San Diego Police Lt. Jorge Duran, Maurice Thomas Jr. was arrested in San Diego on July 4 on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance.
During the booking process, said Duran on Thursday, police ran a routine records check at the jail and discovered that Thomas was wanted in connection with the Jones homicide.
According to Berkeley Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats, Thomas was transported to Alameda County and booked into Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on July 15.
Thomas is scheduled to enter a plea, post-arraignment, on Aug. 5 at the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse in downtown Oakland. He has been charged with murder and intentional discharge of a firearm.
On June 16, police arrested a second defendant, Jevon Calland, 21, in connection with the Feb. 4 shooting of 34-year-old Zontee Jones, on Delaware Street just west of San Pablo Avenue.
Calland — who has been charged with murder and being armed with a firearm — is being held without bail and has a pretrial hearing set for Sept. 13 at the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse.
According to court documents filed by the Berkeley Police Department, Calland threatened Jones the day before the murder, and made a plan with several other people to hurt him.
“Calland engaged the victim in a physical confrontation and … other persons assisted him. During the confrontation the victim was shot and killed,” police wrote.
According to the documents, police said forensic evidence “supports the conclusion that Thomas shot the victim.”
Police said Calland was captured on video participating in the murder, and was identified by multiple witnesses at the scene, who said he was running from the scene after the murder.
Jones was Berkeley’s first homicide of 2013. On July 17, Jermaine Davis was killed on Derby Street, near Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Police have not released any information about suspect descriptions or arrests related to the Davis case at this time.
Related:
2 men named in Berkeley murder case; details emerge (06.19.13)
Berkeley police make arrest in Zontee Jones murder (06.19.13)
Police arrest Oakland woman in Berkeley homicide (02.26.13)
West Berkeley neighbors ask for answers after homicide (02.20.13)
Berkeley police make arrests related to two Berkeley homicides (02.14.13)
Police name Zontee Jones as year’s first Berkeley homicide (02.06.13)
Man shot dead in Berkeley, first homicide of 2013 (02.04.13)
City of Berkeley offers reward to find ‘Cowboy’ killer (12.20.12)
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