DUBLIN — He portrayed himself as a knight in shining honor who came to his girlfriend’s rescue, but prosecutors say he killed a man who’d arranged to pay the woman for sex.
Now Darreis Buckley, 28, has received his fate — a prison sentence of 40 years to life in prison for second-degree murder with a gun. On Dec. 19, 2023, Buckley shot and killed 53-year-old Darwin Foster, of Oakland, at a home at the Granite Ridge Apartments in Fremont.
Police say it all stemmed from jealousy over Buckley’s then-25-year-old girlfriend, a self-described “escort” who had arranged to sell sex to Foster while Buckley was ostensibly at the grocery store. Buckley has argued the killing was in self-defense, and that he rushed to help the woman after hearing her frantically scream for help.
Before sentencing Buckley, Alameda County Judge Paul Delucchi denied a new trial motion that argued the guilty verdict was fraught, rejecting Buckley’s interpretation of the facts as “completely opposite” to what video shows and the testimony of witnesses who never heard a woman screaming.
“It seems to this court that Mr. Buckley has a different perception of reality,” Delucchi said. He later added, “The jury verdict, I think, was right on point and certainly consistent with the facts.”
Buckley’s girlfriend was initially also arrested on suspicion of murder, but prosecutors never charged her. She told police in an interview that she was an “escort” who arranged to have sex with Foster for money, and described Buckley as her “boyfriend.” Police testified that she had “Darreis” tattooed on her face, according to court records.
The motion for a new trial says Buckley had survived two prior shootings and had a “heightened fear” of being shot again.
“(Buckley) testified that he was aware of (his girlfriend’s) activities as a prostitute and did not harbor ill will to her clientele,” Buckley’s attorney, David Bryden, wrote in the motion. “He testified that he did not know the decedent but was aware that Turner had arranged to see someone for prostitution.”
According to the court records, Buckley has three prior felony convictions, including for attempted murder conviction in 2014, when he was 16. As an adult, he was convicted of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury in 2018 and evading an officer with willful disregard for public safety in 2023.
Buckley was transferred to North Kern State Prison on Dec. 17, records show.