Two Alameda police officers no longer face charges in connection with the death of 26-year-old Mario Gonzalez after a judge's ruling Monday.
In the ruling, an Alameda County Superior Court judge agreed with a defense motion to drop involuntary manslaughter charges against Alameda police officers James Fisher and Cameron Leahy because it was determined the charges were not properly filed within the three-year statute of limitations.
"The judge’s decision is disappointing because ultimately two of the people who participated in killing Mario Gonzalez may be able to walk out of court on what appears to be a technicality or a loophole," Adante Pointer, attorney for Gonzalez’s mother Edith Arenales, said.
Charges against Officer Eric McKinley remain in place. McKinley's statute of limitations was extended because he was out of the country during some of that three-year period.
Gonzalez died in April 2021 after the three Alameda officers pinned him to the ground during a scuffle. Arenales told Telemundo 48 that what happened in court Monday is an injustice and that she will not stop fighting to see those officers punished.
"They played with my feelings, they played with the faith I had," Arenales said. "The decision they made does not seem like they are respecting the lives of human beings."
The Alameda County District Attorney's Office released a statement Tuesday: "It is unfortunate that all three defendants will not be held accountable for their alleged roles in the death of Mario Gonzalez. It is important to note that the court’s decision was not made based on any lack of merit. Our prosecutors will proceed to file an amended complaint against Officer McKinley."
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Pointer hopes the district attorney will appeal the ruling for the two officers, admitting the case will be harder to try with only one defendant.
"It certainly poses its own challenge when you have two of the three people who were involved in taking someone’s life not sitting there in the chair next to the defendant who is still being prosecuted," he said.
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McKinley, the third officer who still faces charges, is expected back in court Friday.
Fisher's attorney, Julia Fox, claims the district attorney's case lacked prosecutorial integrity.
"The fact that this was a baseless prosecution remains the same irrespective of the statute of limitations issue that the DA’s office ran into," Fox said. "They also have a beyond a reasonable doubt issue that they have had at the genesis of this case."
Fox and her client hope McKinley's charges will be dismissed soon, too.
"I think that it's bittersweet," Fox said. "Some of the joy that he righteously should be feeling is undercut a bit by the fact that Eric McKinley remains up for prosecution."
