Murder trial set to begin for three men charged in Oakland police officer killing – NBC Bay Area

The trial of three men accused of killing an Oakland police officer in the line of duty late last year begins on Wednesday.

Officer Tuan Le was shot and killed in the early morning hours of December 29, 2023, while responding to a burglary alarm at a cannabis dispensary.

An Alameda County judge concluded that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to prove that the defendants – Mark Sanders, Sebron Russell and Allen Starr Brown – “knew or should have known” that Le was an on-duty peace officer at the time of his killing.

A fourth defendant is charged with three counts of second-degree burglary and will be prosecuted separately.

At least one of the defendants, Sanders, faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole, according to the court's ruling. Russell was on parole at the time of his arrest.

Just months before Le's murder, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price dismissed previous charges against Russell, court documents show. Those charges included kidnapping for the purpose of robbery or sex crime, as well as special allegations of use of a firearm.

In connection with Le's murder, Russell is charged with murder, specifically premeditated murder and three counts of second-degree burglary.

In January, Oakland police and other law enforcement agencies paid tribute to Le. He was shot in the head and died in a hospital just hours after being called to a break-in at a cannabis dispensary. He was 36 years old.

Le was the first police officer killed in Oakland in nearly 15 years.