From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Wed Jul 09 2008 - 21:31:12 EDT
Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:45
**
OAKLAND: TWO BROTHERS ORDERED TO STAND TRIAL FOR THANKSGIVING MURDERS
OAKLAND (BCN)
At a tense hearing marred at times by shouting and shoving, a judge today
ordered two brothers to stand trial on charges that they murdered three
relatives at the relatives' home in Oakland on Thanksgiving Day 2006.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert McGuiness rejected the argument
by Ray Plumhoff, the attorney for Asmeron Gebreselassie, 43, that
Gebreselassie acted in self-defense when he armed himself with a gun, went
to the apartment of his in-laws and killed his 28-year-old sister-in-law,
her 17-year-old brother and their 50-year-old mother.
At the end of a preliminary hearing that began on Jan. 23, McGuiness also
rejected the claim by Robert Beles, the attorney for Tewodros Gebreselassie,
39, that his client had no idea that his brother was coming to the apartment
and was armed with a gun.
McGuiness said prosecutor John Jay presented sufficient evidence to have the
brothers stand trial and ordered them to return to court on July 23 to have
a trial date set.
Killed in the incident at the Keller Plaza apartment complex at 5301
Telegraph Ave. in Oakland about 3 p.m. on Nov. 23, 2006, were Winta Mehari,
the Gebreselassie's sister-in-law, as well as her brother, Yonas Mehari, and
their mother, Regbe Bahrengasi.
The brothers and the victims in the case are all from Eritrea.
Supporters of the brothers and of the victims, many of them dressed in
traditional white Eritrean clothes, were almost equally divided today and
packed McGuiness's courtroom.
Pushing and shouting erupted when there weren't seats for everyone and the
seven bailiffs who guarded the courtroom forced some people to go out into
the hallway.
There was more pushing and shouting at the end of today's hearing and
bailiffs detained several people.
Asmeron Gebreselassie was bitter as bailiffs took him out of the courtroom,
saying, "This whole process is not fair and was fixed from the beginning.
The judge is not fair."
He said, "I'm innocent and I'm going to win."
Beles said Tewodros Gebreselassie "is disappointed that the case against him
was not thrown out," saying that his client "is adamant that he had nothing
to do with the shootings."
In his closing argument in the hearing last week, prosecutor John Jay
alleged that Asmeron and Tewodros Gebreselassie were motivated by revenge.
He said the brothers wanted to "massacre" Winta Mehari and her entire family
because they believed she was responsible for the death of 42-year-old
Abraham Tewolde, her husband and their older brother, at the couple's home
in Berkeley on March 1, 2006. Abraham Tewolde's death was investigated by
Berkeley police but his cause of death was undetermined.
Jay also alleged that the brothers wanted to kidnap Abraham's 2-year-old son
so they could raise him and also collect on a $500,000 life insurance policy
that Abraham had taken out before he died, as the boy is a beneficiary.
Plumhoff, admitted that Asmeron Gebreselassie fired the shots that killed
three people, but said he did so only because he thought he was going to be
killed, alleging that two male relatives of Winta Mehari met him with an
angry outburst and pulled out guns.
Plumhoff alleged that Asmeron Gebreselassie believes that the Mehari family
wanted to kill him because he threatened their plan to cash in on the
insurance policy for Abraham Tewolde.
He said the brothers believed that Abraham had been poisoned by Winta
Mehari.
Plumhoff also alleged a second reason he believes the Mehari family wanted
to kill Asmerson Gebreselassie: because he threatened to reveal that Merhawi
Mehari, Winta's 21-year-old brother, is gay.
Plumhoff said, "Homosexuality is not acceptable in the Eritrean community
and the Eritrean Orthodox Church" and revealing information about Merhawi
Mehari's homosexuality would have brought disgrace and dishonor to his
family.
At the beginning of the preliminary hearing, Plumhoff said Abraham Tewolde
died only a few weeks after he discovered that Merhawi was molesting his
son.
According to Plumhoff, only a few hours before Abraham Tewolde died, he told
Asmeron Gebreselassie in a phone conversation that he had confronted Winta
and Merhawi about the alleged molestation but they had denied that Merhawi
was gay.
Plumhoff said today that Asmeron went to the Meharis' home on Thanksgiving
Day 2006 to tell Regbe Bahrengasi, who was the 2-year-old boy's primary
caregiver, that Merhawi was gay and the boy shouldn't be left alone with
him.
In addition to three counts of murder each, the brothers will stand trial on
two special circumstances murder allegations: multiple murder and murder
during the course of a kidnapping.
Prosecutors haven't yet decided if they will seek the death penalty for
Asmeron Gebreselassie.
Tewodros Gebreselassie won't face the death penalty because prosecutors
don't think he fired any shots in the incident.
The brothers also face one count of attempted murder for the non-fatal
shooting of Yehtram Mehari, the brother of Winta and Yonas, one count of
kidnapping for allegedly taking the 2-year-old boy from the scene and two
counts of false imprisonment involving Merhawi Mehari and his twin brother
Angesom Mehari.
The brothers were arrested at their nearby apartment a short time after the
shooting incident and have been in custody ever since
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