Former Dublin Deputy Devin Williams Charged With Double Murder

DUBLIN, CA — Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price has filed double murder charges against Devin Williams, a former deputy with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office accused of killing two Dublin residents inside their home in September 2022. If convicted of all charges, Williams will face 50 years to life in prison, the DA’s office said.

“This is an unthinkable tragedy for the Tran Family. There is nothing I can say that will relieve the pain and anger they’re feeling with the loss of their loved ones,” Price said in a statement. “What I can say is those two counts of murder that Mr. Williams faces carry with them a minimum of decades of time and potentially a lifetime in prison.”

Price was criticized for a last-minute bid to drop all the sentencing enhancements against the former deputy, according to reports in The East Bay Times and San Francisco Chronicle. Judge Paul Delucchi denied the request, citing its filing shortly before a key hearing.

According to The Times, the prosecutors filed a motion March 15 requesting information on whether Black defendants disproportionately received special-circumstances enhancements. Crowds of friends and relatives of victims Maria and Benison Tran protested outside the courtroom Wednesday, carrying signs accusing Price of being soft on crime and “let[ting] murderers go free.”

Williams, 26, pleaded not guilty in December 2022 to fatally shooting a married couple, Benison and Maria Tran, inside their home on Colebrook Lane on Sept. 7, 2022. He allegedly shot the couple at around 12:45 a.m., then fled. He was found the next day near Coalinga in Fresno County by CHP officers.

Surviving family members filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in October against the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, accusing them of bestowing Williams with “preferential treatment” due to his position. Williams had been dating Tran, and came to her house and rang the doorbell numerous times in August, according to court papers.

RELATED:

• Family Allegedly Killed By Dublin Deputy Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit
  
• Former AlCo Sheriff's Deputy Pleads Not Guilty To Murder In Dublin
  
• Deputy Killed His Married Girlfriend & Her Husband: DA