Judge jails Oakland man who allegedly duped Orinda cop with hidden gun trick

"Maurice Herron, 27, was jailed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandis Westmore, who checked 12 of the 20 possible reasons to jail someone with a pending federal case. In a prior federal gun case, Herron convinced Westmore to release him from jail, and Westmore said she believed that he had found a decent job and was making an honest effort to change his life. But the evidence proffered by the government in this case showed it was not so, Westmore wrote in her detention order"

"During the Orinda arrest, Herron allegedly took a gun from his waistband while handcuffed in the back of a police vehicle and stashed it on the floor, according to court records. Eleven days later, another officer found the gun in the patrol car and investigators reviewed footage from a video camera inside the vehicle, which captured the alleged stashing. Federal prosecutors also allege that Herron served as the getaway driver in a downtown Oakland armed robbery,"

Maurice Herron, 27, was jailed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandis Westmore after she checked multiple statutory reasons for detention. Herron had been released in a prior federal gun case when the judge believed he had a decent job and was trying to change his life. Prosecutors presented evidence contradicting that view. Herron faces two separate federal gun cases, one from an alleged January 2025 arrest and another from a November Orinda arrest. During the Orinda arrest, investigators say Herron took a gun from his waistband while handcuffed and stashed it on the patrol-car floor; eleven days later an officer found the weapon and in-vehicle video captured the act. Prosecutors also allege Herron was the getaway driver in a downtown Oakland armed robbery tied to a fatal shooting.

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