Police arrest 2 more after December homicide in Berkeley

Authorities have arrested two more men tied to the fatal shooting in West Berkeley that killed Kamahl Middleton, a 36-year-old El Sobrante man, in December.

Authorities tracked down one of the men — 18-year-old Khalil Leroy Phanor of San Leandro — in Washington state, and arrested him Thursday night. The Alameda County district attorney’s office had already charged Phanor on Monday with murder, robbery and assault with a firearm.

Also charged Monday was 20-year-old San Leandro resident Carl Young, who was arrested last week.

The Berkeley Police Department’s homicide detail arrested a third man, 19-year-old Gregory Foote, on Friday in Hayward, with the assistance of the Hayward Police SWAT team. The arrest took place at 7:30 a.m. in the 2300 block of Tahiti Street. Foote was arrested on suspicion of homicide, assault with a deadly weapon and robbery, and was taken to Berkeley Jail for booking. He was not yet listed online as in custody as of publication time. [Update, 9:22 p.m. Foote is being held without bail at Berkeley Jail and is scheduled for arraignment Monday.]

Authorities arrested a 17-year-old last week, as well, in connection with the case. He was booked into the Alameda County Juvenile Detention Facility, but no further information about him has been available due to privacy laws protecting minors.

A warrant was issued Monday for Phanor’s arrest. According to a statement released Friday evening by the Berkeley Police Department, detectives determined Phanor may have fled to Washington state, and sought help from local law enforcement agencies, through the FBI and the U.S. Marshal Service.

Authorities found Phanor in Everett, Washington, on Thursday night, according to a statement released Friday by the Snohomish County sheriff’s department. That agency’s task force picked Phanor up at an apartment complex at 8:30 p.m. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail on suspicion of being a fugitive from justice from another state.

According to the sheriff’s department, the Snohomish County Violent Offender Task Force, Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force, Everett Police Department Pro-Act Team and Federal Bureau of Investigation’s “Seattle Safe Streets Task Force” captured Phanor without incident.

Berkeley Police Capt. Andrew Greenwood said Friday that the investigation is continuing, and that he could not say whether additional arrests are expected.

The fatal shooting of Kamahl Middleton took place Dec. 29 on San Pablo Avenue, just north of University Avenue in West Berkeley, in a parking lot used by the 99 Cents Only store and other businesses, and adjacent to Everett & Jones Barbecue.

Middleton was pronounced dead at the scene. A woman who was with him was taken to the hospital for treatment, but survived the attack. The San Francisco Chronicle identified the woman as Middleton’s girlfriend, and said Middleton had arranged to sell medical marijuana to someone on the night he was killed.

Middleton’s cause of death was multiple shotgun pellet wounds of the shoulder and chest, according to the Alameda County coroner’s office.

Middleton identified himself on his LinkedIn page as the chief marketing officer for Natural Energy Company, dating back to 1996. He became a paraplegic after a car accident in high school.

According to court papers, which provided the narrative basis for Young’s arrest, “The victim was shot and killed during the course of a robbery. A second victim was shot in the arm but survived. Carl Young was developed as a suspect. Young was identified in a line-up as a person who participated in this robbery. Young was arrested on a Ramey [warrant] and interviewed and he admitted to his role in these crimes.”

The penalties for the murder charge against Young and Phanor could be stiffer because the fatal shooting took place during the course of a robbery. According to court papers, Phanor was the person responsible for firing the shotgun during the robbery. Charges against Foote are expected to be filed next week.

According to the Berkeley Police statement released Friday — in addition to the other law enforcement agencies that helped with the case — the department’s Special Response Team “worked closely with Homicide detectives during the February 19 operations, and Special Enforcement Unit members worked closely with investigators throughout this investigation.”

Three other people were killed in Berkeley last year: 54-year-old Sylvan Fuselier near San Pablo Avenue and Addison Street in February; Nancy McClellan, 72, in South Berkeley in September during an attempted carjacking; and 21-year-old Damarco Thomas in a shooting in October at the Seabreeze market on University Avenue.

Berkeley Police detectives made arrests in the killings of Fuselier and McClellan, and those court proceedings have been underway. Thomas was killed within the East Bay Regional Park District Police Department’s jurisdiction; no one has been arrested in that case.

Police ask anyone with information about this incident to call the Homicide Detail at 510-981-5741 or the non-emergency line at 510-981-5900. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can reach Bay Area Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

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Emilie Raguso