The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday charged a suspected gang member with special circumstances murder for the fatal shooting of the son of Oakland City Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney in March.
Los Angeles police said Victor McElhaney, 21, Gibson McElhaney's son, was shot in an apparent botched robbery at a convenience store at Maple Avenue and Adams Boulevard, about a mile from the University of Southern California campus at about 12:30 a.m. on March 10. He died at about 11 a.m. that day.
McElhaney was a drummer and was a senior at the USC Thornton School of Music.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Ivan Hernandez, 23, was charged with murder with special circumstance allegations that he committed the murder during an attempted robbery and while he is an active participant in a criminal street gang.
Hernandez, who also was charged with one count of attempted robbery, was expected to be arraigned on Tuesday at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles.
Prosecutors said the charges against Hernandez make him eligible for the death penalty but it won't make a decision on that issue until a later date.
Victor McElhaney's death was the second tragedy to hit Gibson McElhaney in the past four years.
Torian Hughes, 17, who she considered to be her grandson and helped raise, was fatally shot in the 900 block of Mandela Parkway in West Oakland at about 1:40 p.m. on Dec. 20, 2015.
Shiheim Johnson, who was 19 at the time and is now 22, was convicted of first-degree murder on March 13 for his role in the crime and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 2.
Gibson McElhaney attended most of Johnson's trial until her son was fatally shot.
The teen who allegedly shot Hughes is being prosecuted separately in the juvenile court system.
