Rob AriasWe’re beginning to get a clearer picture of the events that led up to the September 2nd homicide in Emeryville thanks to reporting by East Bay Times County Courts Reporter Nate Gartrell. The fatal shooting of 43-year-old Robert Abeyta took place outside the Nirvana Mini Mart on San Pablo Avenue. It was Emeryville’s first homicide in over two years.
51-year-old Isaac Landry and 52-year-old Armand Watson were both initially charged with the murder of Abeyta. Abeyta was shot in the head allegedly by Watson during an early-morning confrontation outside the late night convenience store.
Landry and Watson were together at the store buying cigarettes when an argument with Abeyta began. This confrontation was captured on the store’s security cameras.
According to police and witness testimony, Abeyta was the aggressor in the incident making racist comments, threats and reaching for his waistband suggesting he had a weapon. Police testified that Landry initially attempted to de-escalate the situation, telling the men to “break it up.”
According to testimony, Watson responded to the perceived threat from Abeyta by retrieving a gun from his vehicle before firing the fatal shot at Abeyta. Landry is accused of stomping on Abeyta’s head after the shooting although a forensic pathologist testified that the stomping did not contribute to his death. Abeyta was pronounced dead at a hospital later that morning.
Landry and Watson attempted to flee the area in a vehicle but crashed into a median and were detained by UC Berkeley Police Department officers who were patrolling the 3800 San Pablo housing complex owned by the University.
County Superior Court Judge Thomas Reardon ruled there was insufficient evidence to support the murder charge against Landry and dismissed it. Landry was released from custody that day under a 6 p.m. curfew. Landry still faces a felony charge of being an accessory after the fact, as well as a misdemeanor charge for allegedly leading police on a brief chase, records show.
Watson remains charged with murder and illegal gun possession. Court records show both defendants are scheduled to return to court in January.
Robert W. “Chaba” Abeyta Jr., who grew up in Oakland’s Fruitvale District, had a long criminal record including being charged with kidnapping in 2012 and leading the CHP on a high speed pursuit and methamphetamine possession in 2018. In 2020, he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and served time at Santa Rita Jail in Alameda. He was profiled by KQED in 2021 in a story detailing the eligibility of inmates to COVID era stimulus checks.
Insufficient evidence? Really? This judge sounds like a joke. It may have been provoked, if witnesses and camera footage is correct, but it still sounds like voluntary manslaughter. However much a record this guy had, people need to stop dying over absolutely nothing.