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Justice Delayed But Not Denied: MAJ Secures Dismissal In High Profile Prosecution

Posted On: January 22, 2025

The Alameda Superior Court has dismissed criminal charges against Alameda Police Officer Eric McKinley arising out of the 2021 in-custody death of Mario Gonzales Arenales. The victory follows months of tenacious litigation by MAJ partners James Shore and Alexander Bukac.

The coroner determined the primary cause of Mr. Gonzales’ death to be the toxic effects of methamphetamine combined with the effects of morbid obesity and fatty liver. Following an extensive investigation by the Alameda County Sheriff’s office, then-District Attorney Nancy O’Malley declined to file charges against either McKinley or two other involved officers – Cameron Leahy and James Fisher. When now-recalled District Attorney Pamela Price took office, the investigation was reopened and charges were filed against all three officers one day before the expiration of the 3-year statute of limitation. DA Price ignored the Alameda coroner’s cause of death and instead chose to rely on a second autopsy conducted by a pathologist hired by attorneys for the Gonzales family, which determined the cause of death was positional asphyxia.

Ms. Price’s office was required to – but did not – secure arrest warrants in order to ensure the prosecution was timely. After persuasive briefing by Alison Berry Wilkinson, of Berry Wilkinson Law Group, the court agreed and dismissed the charges against Leahy and Fisher. As to McKinley, however, the court ruled that the charges were timely because his absence from California, while on a religious mission trip to South Africa, tolled the statute of limitation.

With McKinley the lone remaining defendant, Shore and Bukac waged a sustained campaign to secure basic, constitutionally required discovery from the recalcitrant DA’s Office – culminating in a detailed motion cataloging a litany of discovery violations and ongoing misconduct. In the midst of the briefing on that motion, MAJ discovered both that Ms. Price previously had an attorney/client relationship with members of the Gonzales family and that a key prosecution witness had turned. In a striking turn of events, Dr. Bennet Omalu, a private physician (portrayed by Will Smith in the movie Concussion) who performed the second autopsy on Mr. Gonzales – and who was the linchpin for the prosecution’s entire theory of guilt – sought to quash a subpoena for his testimony and announced publicly that he believed the officers should not be prosecuted.

Facing major discovery problems, a severely compromised expert witness, and a looming recusal motion to disqualify the entire office, the District Attorney, days after Ms. Price’s recall, moved to dismiss the case. Shore, in impassioned remarks to the court at the dismissal hearing, invoked the words of Justice Robert Jackson in observing the sanctity of a prosecutor’s role, and called for an end of politically-motivated prosecutions: “I hope that the District Attorney’s Office will reset, and recommit to seeking justice in the right way, at the right time, and without improper motive.”

The dismissal is the right result – and long overdue. Thankfully, all three officers are back to work, having been previously cleared of any misconduct after an extensive Internal Affairs investigation that took place after DA O’Malley declined to file charges and before Ms. Price’s short-lived tenure as Alameda DA.

If you have any questions about this case, please contact James Shore or Alex Bukac in our San Rafael office.

© Messing Adam & Jasmine LLP