MARTINEZ — After months of anticipation, a Contra Costa judge has decided on a landmark issue involving police racism and a new California law, dismissing special-circumstances enhancements against four people accused of murder in Antioch.
In an order issued Monday, Judge David Goldstein dismissed all special-circumstances enhancements against co-defendants Eric Windom, Terryon Pugh, Keyshawn McGee, and Trent Allen, taking away life without the possibility of parole as a potential outcome. Goldstein did not explain his decision in writing, but is expected to speak about it at a court hearing on Friday.
Goldstein’s decision marks the third time in California history that Contra Costa County has been the subject of a landmark decision over a law enforcement violation of the Racial Justice Act. Goldstein has previously dismissed gang charges in this same case after finding prosecutors’ gang filing practices were racist, and another judge threw out murder convictions against two people in a separate case after finding the prosecutor used “racially coded language” during the trial.
Goldstein’s decision closes an issue that has been litigated for months, as four defense attorneys and the Contra Costa District Attorney’s office gave opposing arguments on how to handle the four-defendant murder case in light of rampant racism by Antioch police investigators. The four were arrested in 2021 and charged with murder and attempted murder, along with allegations they committed the crimes to benefit an Oakland-based gang.
But in early 2022, the FBI and Contra Costa DA began investigating more than a dozen Antioch and Pittsburg cops for alleged crimes, which led to a second, parallel scandal: After seizing a number of officers’ phones, investigators found dozens of Antioch cops had exchanged racist, sexist, and homophobic text messages, with numerous communications referencing their jobs and people they were investigating, including the defendants in this case.
After the messages surfaced, prosecutors conceded that the Antioch officers had violated the Racial Justice Act, a new state law designed to weed racism out of the criminal justice system. The only question was for Goldstein to decide the legal remedy.
Goldstein rejected one defense proposition to throw out the murder charges completely, but threw out special circumstances charges alleging the defendants had lied in wait during the alleged murder. Goldstein also ruled that during the trial, defense attorneys can impeach eight officers with the fact that they violated the RJA during the investigation.
Last year, Goldstein dismissed gang enhancements against the four under the Racial Justice Act, but for a different reason; this ruling focused on filing practices by the Contra Costa DA, which Goldstein ruled more often targeted Black people compared to Latinos and whites.
In August 2023, federal and state prosecutors charged 14 former Antioch and Pittsburg cops with a range of crimes, including fraud, civil rights violations, and accepting bribes. The deadline for the concurrent administrative investigation into the racist texts is fast approaching — if no decision is made by March, none of the involved officers will face discipline.