In a letter, Livermore’s police chief has criticized Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s office for not pursuing stronger penalties against a robbery suspect whose alleged crimes “shock the conscience of our community.”
“In one of these crimes, the victim was beaten and required sutures,” Police Chief Jeramy Young wrote in a letter to Price, which was dated July 6 and provided to this newspaper. He added, “The circumstances in this case are exactly why enhancements exist.”
In his letter to Price, Young urged prosecutors to file “all relevant” sentence enhancements against the 21-year-old defendant, Colby Berry, who is accused of attacking two women May 21 while armed with a firearm, on parole for a prior shooting and wearing a GPS ankle monitor.
In an interview, Young said he had not heard back from Price, expressing disappointment with the handling by her office of what he called an “egregious” case.
“I’m not satisfied with the handling — to this point — at all,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office said in an email Friday that Price is “communicating directly with the chief,” but did not provide further comment.
Sentence enhancements — such as those for firearms and prior offenses the police chief is seeking — can add years to a person’s prison term if convicted. They have become a flashpoint in Price’s turbulent first year as the county’s top law enforcement official that has included the launch of a recent recall effort against her.
This newspaper reported in March that Price issued a memo to prosecutors that outlined a new approach to charging enhancements, severely curtailing their use and requiring supervisory approval before filing them in any new case or plea deal.
A former civil rights attorney, Price campaigned on a progressive reform platform and vowed to take steps to end “mass incarceration” and address racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
A report published this year by California Policy Lab, a nonpartisan research institute at the University of California, analyzed California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation data and found enhanced sentences affected about 70% of incarcerated people as of 2022.
Researchers also found sentence enhancements are more likely to affect men and Black and American Indian people.
Young, who was appointed Livermore’s police chief in 2020 and joined the department as a captain in 2014, said he had not before sent a letter like the one he sent Price about the May robbery case.
Berry, the defendant, has pleaded not guilty to multiple felony counts connected to the case and his subsequent arrest, including robbery; assault with a semiautomatic firearm; unlawful possession of a firearm; and carrying a concealed firearm, according to court records. Neither Berry’s defense attorney nor the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office provided a comment on the chief’s letter.
“The facts of this case are what prompted me to write the letter,” the police chief said, adding that his department will now keep a close watch on the prosecution of violent cases in which a firearm is used. “And do everything in our power to make sure we’re representing the victims and also protecting our community to the way we think is necessary.”