Judge Postpones Hearing on BART Shooting
The hearing on a motion to dismiss former BART officer Mehserle's murder charge will be postponed, said a judge today
Tuesday, Jul 28, 2009 | Updated 7:01 PM PDT
Johannes Mehserle shot Oscar Grant once in the back with his service weapon on the platform of the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland shortly after 2 a.m. on Jan. 1.
A judge postponed a hearing today on a motion by former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle. The motion asked the judge to dismiss his murder charge in the shooting of Oscar Grant.
The hearing was scheduled to be held today, but Mehserle's lawyer, Michael Rains, agreed to postpone it until September 4 because the Alameda County District Attorney's Office wasn't served with the motion on time, even though it was filed on time.
The delay will give prosecutors adequate time to respond to Mehserle's motion.
Mehserle, 27, shot Grant, a 22-year-old Hayward man, once in the back with his service weapon on the platform of the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland shortly after 2 a.m. on Jan. 1 after he and other officers were called to the station in response to reports of a fight on a train.
Rains said Mehserle shouldn't face murder charges because there's no evidence that he exhibited malice during the short, two-and-a-half-minute time period he was on the station's platform before the shooting. He said Mehserle should face a lesser charge such as manslaughter.
Rains admitted during the preliminary hearing that Mehserle killed Grant but claimed that it was "a tragic accident" because Mehserle meant to use his Taser gun on Grant and fired his gun by mistake.
But at the end of the hearing Clay said,"There is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Mehserle intended to shoot Oscar Grant with a gun, not a Taser."
Bay City News
