An Oakland man has been convicted of first-degree murder and attempted robbery during an incident where he was shot in the jaw by the victim and left his own teeth at the crime scene, court records show.
Edward Twine, 27, was convicted of murdering 35-year-old Halia Gebrezghi in the July 10, 2021 Oakland shooting, a chaotic incident that ended with Gebrezghi’s brother driving up to the scene, grabbing a gun from the sidewalk and firing at the men he’d just watch rob and kill his brother.
Twine was arrested a month after the shooting, linked by DNA tests done on three human teeth allegedly found at the site of the shooting. He was also captured on surveillance footage at a San Francisco hospital — while still wearing a ski mask from the robbery — to seek treatment of his gunshot wound, prosecutors said.
During Twine’s trial, which started on the two-year anniversary of Gebrezghi’s death, his attorney argued that there was no proof the teeth had actually been collected from the area where Gebrezghi was killed because Oakland police investigators botched the processing of the crime scene.
Gebrezghi, a cannabis dispensary owner, was wealthy and enjoyed flaunting expensive jewelry, like a Rolex watch and a diamond necklace he was reportedly wearing the night he was killed, authorities say. On 10:20 p.m. he was returning to his car on the 1200 block of 52nd Avenue, when two masked gunmen ran up and attempted to rob him.
Gebrezghi reached for his own pistol, and shot Twine in the jaw before being fatally shot during the ensuing exchange of gunfire, police say. Meanwhile, Gebrezghi’s brother noticed the commotion and rushed to help, arriving as both robbers were fleeing in different directions. He grabbed a gun from the pavement and fired at Twine, but missed, authorities say.
Twine faces a sentence of 25 years to life on the murder count alone.