Ex-Danville Officer Guilty Of Assault In Fatal Shooting

DANVILLE, CA — Contra Costa County sheriff's Deputy Andrew A. Hall faces 17 years behind bars after a jury found him guilty of assault with a firearm Tuesday in the fatal 2018 shooting of Laudemer Arboleda in Danville.

The jury could not reach a verdict on a separate charge of voluntary manslaughter.

Prosecutors left the Martinez courtroom without comment, heading back to their office with Arboleda's family. Prosecutors can retry the case, and Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Terri Mockler set a Jan. 14 conference date on a possible re-trial.

Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton said in a statement that her office will determine its next steps regarding the voluntary manslaughter count soon.

“Today’s guilty verdict holds accountable defendant Andrew Hall for his excessive use of force in the fatal shooting of Laudemer Arboleda," Becton said in the statement. "Deputy Hall’s actions were not only a crime, but they tarnished the badge and they harmed the reputation of all the good, hard working police officers that work for our community."

Hall's sentencing is slated for Nov. 19, and he will remain out of jail until then, Bay Area News Group reported.

Hall's attorney Harry Stern said he would likely appeal the assault conviction.

In a statement, Contra Costa Sheriff David Livingston urged Becton "not to retry this case."

"Although I wish the jury had returned a not-guilty verdict on all counts, I respect their service," he said. "We ask our officers to make split-second decisions and many of the jurors understood that."

Hall, 32, was working as a police officer in Danville at the time of the shooting. The town of Danville contracts with the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office to provide policing services.

Becton announced the charges in April and said at the time that Hall shot Arboleda nine times "without lawful excuse or justification." Both of the charges filed against Hall were felonies.

Hall's attorneys argued the shooting was a necessary measure of self-defense.

Arboleda, 33, of Newark, was killed Nov. 3, 2018, at the close of a slow-speed pursuit through Danville. An internal investigation by the sheriff's office concluded that Hall did not violate any policies.

After Hall shot him, Arboleda continued into the intersection of Diablo Road and Front Street, crashed into another car and was found unresponsive with his foot on the gas pedal, officials said.

Hall's case marked the first time in recent history that the district attorney's office filed charges against a law enforcement officer for his actions in a shooting, Becton said.

The charges were filed a month after Hall's second fatal shooting, involving Tyrell Wilson, a 32-year-old homeless man who was accused of pulling a knife on Hall after he responded to a call of someone throwing rocks off of a Danville overpass.

Hall has been with the sheriff's office for nearly eight years. In that time, he's been the subject of three investigations for serious use of force.

When Hall was assigned to the Martinez Detention Facility, an inmate accused him in 2014 of ramming him face-first into a door while handcuffed and of punching him several times in the face and side, causing the inmate to have his lip reattached. The incident was investigated, and Hall was cleared of wrongdoing.

Judge Mockler said last month that two previous allegations that Hall used excessive force, including the incident at the Martinez jail, could not be used during Hall's trial.

The jury deliberated for more than two days after hearing closing arguments Thursday.

Much of the debate between sides Thursday was over what Hall knew when he entered the situation, with Arboleda stopped with two police units behind him at the corner of Front Street and Diablo Road. Other points of contention were over whether Hall followed sheriff's department procedures and his own training.

"Andrew Hall fired those shots to protect himself from being run over by a car," Stern said. "It's that simple."

Danville police tried pulling Arboleda over multiple times, only to see the Newark man pull away from them. At one point, they drew their guns without shooting, as Arboleda drove away.

Hall was only involved at the very end, when he pulled in front of Arboleda at the corner of Front and Diablo.

As Hall got out of his vehicle and came around to the other side, Sgt. Chris Martin pulled up on the other side, effectively creating a "tunnel" according to defense attorneys, through which Arboleda started driving at what both sides agree was a speed of 6 miles per hour.

Martin, who has since retired and wasn't in court Thursday, previously testified he feared for his life when Hall started firing.

"Before Sgt. Martin pulled in, he had plenty of room to pull around," Stern said.

Stern also showed video stills showing Arboleda's right front wheel tilted in Hall's direction, something Senior Deputy District Attorney Coleen Gleason said only meant Arboleda was trying to drive between the police vehicles.

Hall's lawyers said shooting Arboleda may have saved Hall's life, causing the vehicle to straighten out before it moved across the intersection and struck another vehicle.

"Laudemer was never trying to hit officer Hall," Gleason said. "He was trying to get out."

Gleason pointed out that much of the defense's arguments were based on computer simulation of the scene, while prosecutors relied on multiple dashcam and body cam footage of the officers. She compared their case to the film "The Matrix."

"It tells you how damming the real evidence is," Gleason said.

She also said Hall's only concern was to end the pursuit, not save his own life.

"Failure to obey a police officer does not carry a sentence of death," Gleason said. "Laudemer is not on trial here."