Henry K. Lee
San Francisco Chronicle
HAYWARD, Calif. — Uniformed police officers packed a Hayward courtroom Friday to watch an Oakland man accused of fatally shooting a Hayward police sergeant in the head during a traffic stop be arraigned on murder and special-circumstances charges.
Rows of grieving colleagues of Sgt. Scott Lunger, including police Chief Diane Urban, stood at the Hayward Hall of Justice hearing Friday afternoon as accused killer Mark Anthony Estrada, 21, was arraigned on three special-circumstances counts: murder of a peace officer, lying in wait, and firing from a motor vehicle. Estrada was also hit with a weapons enhancement charge.
Estrada, who has no apparent criminal record but has been linked to gangs, did not enter a plea during his first court appearance since Wednesday’s early-morning slaying of Lunger, the father of two daughters. Judge Scott Patton ordered Estrada to return to court Aug. 25.
Also in the courtroom were relatives of Estrada’s, including his mother. One of them sobbed as he was led away.
If convicted, Estrada could face life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty. Alameda County prosecutors will decide later whether to seek lethal injection in the slaying of Lunger, 48, who lived in Brentwood and was a 15-year Hayward Police Department veteran.
“Without any warning, Sgt. Scott Lunger was callously murdered and will never return home to his family. We at the Alameda County district attorney’s office are committed to doing everything within our power to ensure justice will be served,” said Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley.
“This tragic event has sent shock waves through the law-enforcement community, as well as the community at large,” O’Malley said. “Sgt. Lunger tragically lost his life protecting and serving the people in the city of Hayward. Each day, police officers put their own lives in harm’s way for the benefit and safety of our communities. I wish to offer our sincerest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Sgt. Lunger.”
Lunger was killed about 3:15 a.m. Wednesday when he pulled Estrada over for driving erratically in his 2001 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, police said. As the sergeant walked up to the truck at Lion and Kiwanis streets, a second officer arrived on scene to provide backup, posting himself at the rear of the pickup.
The second officer, a 30-year-old with seven years on the force, “heard some brief verbal contact from Sgt. Lunger” and then a “boom” before seeing Lunger collapse to the ground, police wrote in court documents released Friday. The backup opened fire as the truck sped away, hitting the driver’s side door several times and wounding Estrada, police said.
Lunger was taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he was pronounced dead at 3:48 a.m. An autopsy determined that he died from a shot to the head.
Estrada fled in his truck and abandoned it at 98th and Edes avenues in East Oakland, police said. Bullet holes on the driver’s side were consistent with where the second officer opened fire, and blood was found on the driver’s seat. Two expended 9mm casings were also discovered on the floorboard of the truck, authorities said.
Estrada showed up with family members at San Leandro Hospital with a gunshot wound to his left lower flank, which was consistent with entrance and exit holes from a bullet that pierced the seat of his truck, officials said. He was then transferred to Highland Hospital in Oakland.
Estrada was released from the hospital Thursday night and booked at the medical unit at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, said Alameda County sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly. Authorities remain at a loss as to why he allegedly opened fire.
A 9mm handgun, unexpended rounds and a magazine were found at the crime scene, police said. A search of Estrada’s family home near 107th and Beverly avenues in East Oakland uncovered 9mm ammunition, 9mm casings and surveillance video showing three people arriving at the back of the home, including one who is “limping,” police said.
Outside court Friday, Estrada’s mother, Raquel Estrada, 50, expressed sympathy for Lunger’s family while defending her son.
“I’m very saddened for this tragedy,” Estrada’s tearful mother said. “I feel for the family of the fallen officer.”
She said her son has never been in any kind of trouble.
“He’s a good person. He has a big heart,” she said. “I know he’s not guilty. I know in my heart. I know my son.”
Estrada’s attorney, Richard Pointer, denied reports that the suspect is affiliated with a gang.
“Now, are there gangs in the neighborhood that he lives in? Yes,” Pointer said. “But as far as an acknowledged gang member, my information is no.”
Pointer urged the public not to rush to judgment.
“We don’t know the totality of the circumstances in this case or how those bullets occurred inside of his car and how he was in that location at that time,” Pointer said. “So until there’s more facts that can be assessed and weighed, it’s really pure speculation to take the position that ‘how could you not believe that he’s guilty?’ I think that’s unfair.”
On Thursday, a procession of police vehicles escorted Lunger’s body from the Alameda County coroner’s office in the Oakland hills to the Chapel of the Chimes mortuary in Hayward.
A viewing has been scheduled for 4-8 p.m. Wednesday at the mortuary at 32992 Mission Blvd. in Hayward. A public funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
Copyright 2015 the San Francisco Chronicle