One alleged Antioch gang member released, another re-sentenced in 2015 killing

MARTINEZ Eight years ago Edward Robinson and William Pree were sentenced to life for murder but it turned out their saga was only beginning After a effective appeal bail motions and with a trial looming on the horizon both men have taken plea deals for drastically lower prison terms than what they initially faced The two men had been accused of murdering -year-old Kartiae Ely in as part of a money block takeover by a prison gang Now Robinson and Pree have both pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter On May Robinson received a -year prison term while Pree was sentenced to six years he has already served Robinson also gets credit for time he has spent in jail and prison since his arrest in court records show Both Pree and Robinson were convicted of murder in based on a prosecution theory that Pree was a Kumi gang shot caller who ordered the killing and that Robinson carried it out Jurors didn t find Robinson guilty of gun enhancements though a accomplishable indication that they bought into a defense theory that a third uncharged suspect killed Ely In though an appellate court overturned both murder convictions finding that changes to California law combined with instructional error by the trial judge warranted a re-trial The trial judge was none other than Diana Becton who had gone on to become the Contra Costa District Attorney in the years since both men were sentenced The DA s office distributed a message saying a re-trial would have been more intricate this time around As is often the episode when major time has passed legal proceedings become more complex Evidence can be more challenging to present and the overall strength of the circumstance is diminished the announcement says Pree and Robinson s lawyers declined to comment Pree and Robinson were brought back to county jail so the development could be re-litigated but Pree didn t stay long He was disclosed from jail in December after a judge lowered his bail from million to records show Related Articles Concord matrimonial murder for hire Within an hour she was taking his money DA says California Sheriff s Department errors led to slaying of inmate grand jury says California woman feared ex-boyfriend would kill her prior to fatal shooting San Jose notches its th homicide of the year Alleged East Bay West Side Locos gang member requested on million murder warrant Robinson s lawyer was planning to argue that another suspect who was never charged killed Ely Before he was shot Ely allegedly yelled Bo I thought we were cool an apparent reference to another person who was present for the homicide Ely was shot and killed near specific apartments on the block of Cavallo Road in Antioch in September Prosecutors contended he was lured there and killed to send a message to one of Ely s friends about the Kumi gang s plans to claim drug turf in that area Pree was considered to be a high-ranking member of Kumi an offshoot of the Black Guerilla Family prison gang Three months before Ely was killed Pree shot and killed Clydedale Cheese Hoskin Jr who had just killed Pree s fiancee Adrian Craig during a robbery on the same block That shooting was ruled self-defense During the trial Pree s lawyer argued that he was unaware of the shooting and was attending a family barbecue several blocks away when Ely was killed