Richmond Man One of Two Convicted of Murdering Man Who Bumped Their Car

Oakland, CA— Two reputed gang members were convicted of first-degree murder Monday for the fatal shooting of a man who had inadvertently bumped their car while he was parallel parking outside a North Oakland store shortly before Christmas in 2011.

Jurors deliberated for only a day before announcing their verdict against Cartier Hunter, 27, of Oakland, and Giovante Douglas, 24, of Richmond, for the shooting death of 23-year-old of Charles Butler Jr. at 46th
and West streets in Oakland at about 10:25 a.m. on Dec. 22, 2011.

Hunter and Douglas looked straight ahead and didn't show any emotion when the verdict was read but Butler's family members and friends shed tears.

Prosecutor Butch Ford said in his closing argument last Thursday that Hunter was the shooter and Douglas was the driver and accomplice in the incident. But defense attorneys asked jurors to find Hunter and Douglas not guilty, alleging that there were problems with the way the Oakland Police Department investigated the case and that the prosecution witnesses who identified Hunter and Douglas as the suspects weren't credible or accurate.

A surveillance video played during the trial showed Butler pulling up quickly to a market near 45th and Market streets in his car just as Douglas left the store.

Butler put his car in reverse and maneuvered in between two parked cars but as he moved it forward it lightly struck the car parked in front of it, Douglas' dark four-door Lexus LS 400.

The video showed Butler interacting with Douglas and Hunter at the store. Ford said witnesses told police that Hunter followed Butler on foot, was picked up by Douglas and shot Butler in his car a few blocks away near 46th and West streets.

The fatal shooting was unsolved for nearly two years until a woman who witnessed the shooting, Aisha Weber, felt compelled to contact police in the fall of 2013 after watching a television news story about Butler's
distraught father wanting to solve the case before he died.

Weber testified in the trial of Hunter and Douglas that she didn't come forward immediately after the shooting "because of my safety and the safety of my kids."

Douglas was arrested in October 2013 and Hunter was arrested in April 2014. Weber testified that Hunter jumped out of the car that Douglas was driving, ran up to Butler's car and fired numerous shots. Weber said she also knew both defendants from the neighborhood.

But Hunter's attorney, William Welch, said he believed her testimony was unreliable because she was so preoccupied with ducking and getting to safety after shots rang out that she didn't get a good enough look
to identify Hunter and Douglas.

Douglas' attorney, Paul Feuerwerker, asked jurors to find his client not guilty, saying, "The prosecution didn't prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt" and "there are problems with every significant (prosecution) witness."

But Ford said Weber's testimony was corroborated by the other evidence in the case and "every step of the way she's been consistent about what she said."

Hunter, who has a prior burglary conviction, was also convicted of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm and using a gun to kill Butler.

Hunter faces a sentence of at least 50 years to life and Douglas faces at least 25 years to life.

By Bay City News

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