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, and will serve three years in state prison, court records show.
But during his June sentencing hearing, Judge Kimberly Colwell called a private sidebar with the prosecuting and defense attorneys, then returned to the bench and announced the deal wouldn't be going through. I cannot agree to this because I don't believe it protects the public safety, Colwell said, according to a transcript of the hearing.
While Wilson rejected the controversial maneuver from Essayli - in which Kirk would be sentenced to probation - he did grant the prosecution's motion to lessen the charges against the deputy to a misdemeanor, despite the jury conviction.