OAKLAND — Two men were sentenced to multi-year prison terms, but avoided convictions of murder or manslaughter, in a messy, chaotic and deadly shooting near Lake Merritt, court records show.
Prosecutors originally charged 35-year-old Torrin Dupclay, of Crockett, and 37-year-old Lashawn Price, of Stockton, with murdering 22-year-old Devani “Michelle” Aleman Sanchez during a robbery near the lake.
As the case progressed, it was revealed that the second victim may have killed Aleman Sanchez while firing wildly as he attempted to defend himself from two robbers.
The result was that murder charges were dismissed against Dupclay and Price, as part of a plea deal finalized in December. They both pleaded no contest to two counts of robbery, related to two unrelated armed holdups in Oakland that occurred three weeks after the homicide.
The entirety of the case related to Aleman Sanchez’s death, including murder, attempted murder of her friend and robbery, was dismissed through the deal, records show. In the end, Dupclay was given a seven-year, four-month prison term, while Price was sentenced to 11 years and four months, court records show.
Price — a rapper who uses the stage name Money Bag Lay — was alleged to have fired a shot while robbing Aleman Sanchez and her friend, Rosalino Salinas. During the preliminary hearing, Salinas testified under immunity that the bullet missed him but was close enough to burn his hand, causing the loss of his fingernail.
Salinas admitted he and Aleman Sanchez had been drinking alcohol and using methamphetamine together on the 1400 block of Lakeshore Avenue. Hours earlier, on the night of Nov. 10, he admitted he fired about a half-dozen shots into the ground in the Oakland hills, while intoxicated. Prosecutors later asked him why.
“Just because,” he replied.
Around 1 a.m. on Nov. 11, the two were robbed, and Salinas pulled out his gun after Price allegedly fired. He shot several times and defense attorneys argued one of these shots killed Aleman Sanchez.
Prosecutors appeared to concede that this was a strong possibility, arguing at the preliminary hearing that one of their legal theories was the “provocative act” doctrine, whereby an assailant can be held liable for a homicide that is committed by his or her victim. Court filings by the prosecutor say that Salinas was “drunk, scared, and angry” when he pulled the trigger.
Both men received credit for time served while they were awaiting resolution of their cases in jail. They were arrested in December 2021.
Dupclay’s lawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment. Price’s attorney, Ernie Castillo, said in a statement that his client isn’t a murderer.
“The case involved complex legal distinctions between felony murder and the provocative act doctrine, both of which worked in favor of dismissing the murder charge against Lashawn,” Castillo said. “I’m looking forward to Lashawn’s continued pursuit of a hip hop career when he gets out.”