"OAKLAND Prosecutors here have thrown out the murder case against a local resident who'd been charged with killing his brother during a confrontation, court records show. Matthew John, 21, had been charged with fatally shooting 22-year-old Joshua Hopkins on Feb. 22, 2023, as the two argued on the 2200 block of Seminary Avenue. In September, prosecutors dropped the murder case, but John isn't completely out of hot water he pleaded no contest to robbing a Berkeley jewelry store with two others in a $98,000 takeover heist,"
"John's two co-defendants in the robbery, Jafar Neal and Derell Woods, also accepted plea deals for prison sentences of three and eight years, respectively, court records show. Police say the three men targeted the 14 Karats jewelry store on the 2900 block of College Avenue in Berkeley on Jan. 24, 2023, with one robber pointing a gun at the owner while others smashed jewelry cases."
"An online fundraiser over Hopkins' death says he was shot in front of his infant son, but his girlfriend testified that wasn't the case. (Hopkins) told me he needed to go to the hospital. He was shot, and he was bleeding, she testified. She later added that she tried to get him to a doctor, but, he bled out in front of my apartment."
Prosecutors dropped the murder charge against 21-year-old Matthew John, who had been accused of fatally shooting his 22-year-old brother, Joshua Hopkins, on Feb. 22, 2023. John pleaded no contest to a separate $98,000 Berkeley jewelry store takeover and will serve three years in state prison. Two co-defendants, Jafar Neal and Derell Woods, accepted plea deals for three and eight years. Police allege one robber pointed a gun while others smashed cases. Hopkins' partner testified he returned bleeding and described attempts to get him medical help, and she noted several mental illnesses. Defense argued Hopkins was the aggressor.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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