Police in Livermore criticized the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for what they say was going too easy on a felon arrested in their city and eventually convicted.
Fremont man Colby Berry, 21, was arrested in May 2023 for the violent robbery of two women at the Arroyo Shopping Center in Livermore.
Berry assaulted one woman with a Glock pistol and attempted to grab her purse. She fought back after Berry “violently attacked her for more than 30 seconds,” police said on social media at the time.
Berry then attacked a second woman and stole her purse at gunpoint. Both victims were in their 20s, one from Livermore and one from Discovery Bay.
Berry was on parole and wearing an ankle monitor at the time for shooting into an inhabited dwelling.
This July, Berry pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree robbery and received five years and eight months in prison, with “460 days already served,” according to Livermore Police.
“Berry faced multiple serious charges, including two counts of felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, attempted robbery, robbery, and assault with a deadly weapon,” said Livermore Police on social media. “Despite the severity of these offenses, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office chose not to file special enhancement charges that could have resulted in a longer prison sentence and kept Berry off the streets longer.”
Livermore Police Chief Jeramy Young submitted a formal request to reconsider this decision, but the charges were not adjusted, the department said.
‘Politically motivated’ move?
The District Attorney’s Office on Monday acknowledged getting a letter from Young expressing his desire for specific charges, but said that District Attorney Pamela Price responded to him with a legal basis for her office’s decision in that case.
“The public should know that based on our review of the evidence and the law, Chief Young’s request for career criminal and firearm enhancement in Mr. Berry’s case were not legally justified or sustainable,” said the D.A’s Office in an email on Monday.
The office went on to say that plea negotiations are the prosecutor’s “sovereign domain, not the Chief of Police” and questioned why he would post about a case that was resolved three months ago.
“[This] suggests that Chief Young’s statement today is politically motivated and not driven by any genuine concern for public safety,” the office said.
Young, a Republican, is running for state Senate in District 4, which encompasses the northeastern portion of the Central Valley, along with the central Sierra Nevada and all of Death Valley.
A request for comment from Young was not returned Monday night, but in the department’s social media post, he outlined his chagrin with Berry’s charges and sentencing.
“I am deeply disappointed with the outcome of this case as it does not adequately protect our community,” said Young. “This is a case where the punishment does not fit the crime. People who use firearms to commit violent crimes must be held accountable. In this case, all the firearms charges were ignored.”
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is facing a recall in the Nov. 5 election from constituents who think she has been too soft on crime.
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