Three men charged in the 2021 fatal freeway shooting of 2-year-old Jasper Wu were scheduled to be in court Monday.
Trevor Green, Ivory Bivins and Johnny Jackson have been charged with murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.
In November 2021, Jasper was asleep in his car seat inside his parents' vehicle when he was shot and killed by a stray bullet on Interstate 880 during a rolling gunbattle between rival gangs, police said.
The suspects were arrested in December.
Protesters gathered outside the courthouse to show their opposition to reports that DA Pamela Price plans to drop enhancement charges. Price has denied the reports and declined to comment on the issue.
"I want to clear the record. I assured the parents of Jasper Wu that the men we believe are responsible for his death are charged with serious crimes and they will be held accountable," Price said in a pre-recorded video statement.
Last week, members of the Asian American community demanded an apology from Price after they say she was "condescending and divisive" in her response to an email asking about the charges in the Jasper Wu case.
The email obtained by NBC Bay Area and allegedly written by Price indicated that community members concerned about the case were being misled by the local Chinese community and the media.
Stewart Chen is the president of the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Project and spoke on behalf of Wu’s mother.
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He said the Wu family recently met with Price and remains hopeful justice will be served. But also has concerns after learning the DA recently called for an Alameda County judge to be removed from all criminal cases.
The DA made that move after the judge rejected a plea deal for a triple murder suspect, saying it was too lenient.
“The perpetrator took three lives…I am extremely worried,” said Chen.
Butch Ford is an assistant deputy district attorney with the DA’s office who was put on leave back in January for allegations of misconduct.
He claims a chief assistant with the DA's office was trying to silence those in the AAPI community concerned about how the office is handling the Jasper Wu case.
“To be clear she hasn’t said she’s going to drop the charges,” said Ford. “But she should’ve made a decision, charges pending for months.”
