Coach Beam's death sparks resurrection of gun enhancement charges

DA: Coach John Beam sustained gunshot wound to head

Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said that slain coach John Beam was shot in the head. The suspect, Cedric Irving Jr., has been charged with murder.

OAKLAND, Calif. - The shooting death of legendary football Coach John Beam at Laney College last week prompted the Alameda County District Attorney on Monday to announce she would seek to resurrect mandatory minimum sentences for gun-related convictions, reversing a trend by the ousted DA.

Speaking at a news conference announcing that she had charged Cedric Irving Jr. with the murder of Beam last Thursday, DA Ursula Jones Dixon explained that she also charged the 27-year-old with enhancements alleging Irving personally discharged a firearm, targeted a "vulnerable" victim and caused great bodily harm. 

In California, sentence enhancements are used to add jail or prison time to the original charges.

Following the 2020 death of George Floyd, former DA Pamela Price ran on a progressive platform to do away with these enhancements – a platform that got her elected in 2022 and then recalled in 2024. 

In 2023, Price circulated a memo instructing her prosecutors to use probation terms as the "presumptive offer" in all cases where the defendant was legally eligible for them, the East Bay Times first reported back then. 

But Jones Dickson said she was reversing that policy.

Specifically, Jones Dickson said that cases that otherwise would be misdemeanors may be upgraded to felonies, with defendants required to spend a certain amount of time in custody.

"What that means is, if you're pleading to possession of a gun of a misdemeanor, you'll have to do a certain amount of time in custody, and a certain amount of time as a felony in custody," Jones Dixon said at the news conference. 

Jones Dickson said that moving forward, her office will seek 90-day jail sentences for misdemeanor gun cases, 180-day sentences for felony possession charges, and 16 months in prison for people with felony convictions who are caught with guns.

Ultimately, the combination of sentencing guidelines, juries and judges have the ultimate decision-making powers in meting out sentences.