The two men standing trial for the freeway shooting of two-year-old Jasper Wu are still getting gun and gang enhancements on their murder charges, but Alameda County DA Pamela Price has removed some of their special enhancement charges, which may leave them with lighter sentences.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price faced enormous public blowback in April when she indicated she might not pursue murder charges against the two men currently being tried for the November 2021 freeway shooting that took the life of two-year-old Jasper Wu. But we learned last month that Price’s office would pursue murder charges against two of the defendants, with more enhancement charges possible, though she has made it known that she has moral objections to enhancements, generally.
On Wednesday, Price’s office did formally charge those two defendants, 24-year-old Ivory Bivens and 22-year-old Trevor Green. And while Price did add some gun and gang enhancements to their charges, KTVU reports her office removed a special circumstances charge, and as that station explains, that means the defendants “no longer face the possibility of life without parole or a death sentence.”
BREAKING UPDATE: I've learned @AlamedaCountyDA Pamela Price has removed special circumstances from murder charges filed by predecessor against Ivory Bivens (tats) & Trevor Green (hoodie) in shooting death of 23mo Jasper Wu on I-880 in Oakland. This takes life w/o parole off table pic.twitter.com/KXiibHVZR0
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) June 7, 2023
Price’s office said in a statement to KGO, "We will continue to hold these men accountable for these serious charges that will likely land them behind bars for the rest of their lives."
Despite the lessened charges, Bivens's attorney Ernie Castillo unsurprisingly thinks the other enhanced charges are an outrage.
UPDATE: Statement from Ernie Castillo, attorney for Ivory Bivens, who along w/Trevor Green is no longer facing special circumstances in shooting death of 23mo Jasper Wu on I-880 in Oakland, per amended complaint by @AlamedaCountyDA Pamela Price pic.twitter.com/EsMBPUxg6y
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) June 7, 2023
"My client continues to face an indeterminate life sentence under the filed information," Castillo told KTVU. "It is obvious to me that the District Attorney's office has given into the political pressure surrounding this case by pursuing the gun and gang enhancements."
And even if Price had included the special circumstance charges, the length of prison sentences the two suspects face would not be plausibly altered in reality. If convicted, Bivens faces 265 years to life, while Green would face 175 years behind bars. These would effectively be life sentences.
A third defendant, Johnny Jackson Jr., had his murder charges thrown out by the judge. But Jackson still face a three-year sentence on felony possession of a firearm charges.
Image: @AlamedaCountyDA via Twitter
