MARTINEZ — Nearly 30 years after his controversial murder conviction, the life sentence has been undone for an Antioch man whose case was kept alive in underground rap lyrics and interviews.
Gabriel “Snoop” Roberson, 49, is set to be released from prison within five years, through a new plea deal struck between his defense attorney and Contra Costa prosecutors. Roberson was convicted of a 1994 quintuple shooting but maintained his innocence for decades, and his childhood friend — the locally famous late rapper known as Woodie — consistently released songs implying that Roberson had taken the fall for him.
Through a plea deal struck Nov. 3, Roberson pleaded no contest to one count of voluntary manslaughter and four counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to an additional five years in state prison. He stands to do less than that with credit for time served, but the exact amount is dependent on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Roberson is currently housed at Solano State Prison in Vacaville, records show.
The deal is a stunning turnaround for Roberson, who was originally sentenced to multiple life terms. His convictions were upheld on appeal. He was denied a chance at parole until at least 2030, after a 2020 hearing where he argued with commissioners who brushed off his pleas for innocence. The shooting occurred when Roberson was 17, and he has never spent a day outside of prison in his entire adult life.
But recent changes in state law gave Roberson a chance for freedom after all over avenues had failed. Because he was a juvenile, he was granted an opportunity to convince a judge that his case never should have been tried in adult court. Had he won that hearing, he would have been released instantly. Had he lost, it would have meant a return to prison with no guarantee of release. With so much at stake, both sides went to the negotiating table, a spokesman with the Contra Costa District Attorney’s office said in a statement to this news organization.
“In light of these legal developments — and the possibility of Roberson’s immediate release after 30 years in custody — the District Attorney’s Office negotiated a resentencing agreement,” the statement says. “Roberson admitted guilt to voluntary manslaughter, four counts of attempted murder and a gang enhancement, resulting in a total sentence of 35 years in state prison — approximately five years beyond the time he has already served.”
As part of the deal, Roberson waived his right to any future appeal, prosecutors said.
The quintuple shooting occurred April 17, 1994, a after bloody day of gang warfare in East Contra Costa. It started when a group of suspected Sureños gang members shot up a house party in Pittsburg, paralyzing a man named Ray Ramirez, who would languish for years and eventually die of his injuries. Several of Ramirez’s friends, including his brother — all affiliated with the Norteño gang — rode out to Antioch, looking for the men who shot Ramirez.
What they found was a girl’s 15th birthday celebration at the Antioch Veteran’s Hall. Whether or not the suspected shooters were there, the gunmen’s bullets didn’t find them. All five victims were innocent bystanders, according to police, including 26-year-old Jorge Franco, who died.
One gunman was widely to be Ray Ramirez’s brother, Carlos “Blackbird” Ramirez, who would never have his day in court. The second was identified as Roberson by a single, admittedly drunk witness. Rumors around East Contra Costa spread a different theory: that the second shooter was Ryan Wood, an Antioch rapper who used the stage name “Woodie,” and died of suicide in 2007. One of Wood’s friends, the Pittsburg rapper A-Wax, released a song in 2022 claiming Wood confessed to the shooting before his death.
Ramirez died in a 1998 SWAT standoff. Antioch police said at the time he killed his children then died of suicide during hostage negotiations.
Wood didn’t do much to dispel the rumors, releasing songs thanking “Snoop” for “loyalty” and repeatedly proclaiming that Roberson was innocent. At Roberson’s 2020 parole hearing — the only one he was ever granted — he was asked why he thought he deserved parole.
“I’m suitable because I never even committed the crime I’m in here for,” Roberson said. After a back and forth with the commissioners, he repeated his claims of innocence.
“I don’t care what the law says,” Roberson said. “I’m not guilty.”