CrimeWatch

ZEPHYR COVE, Nev. (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― The former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man on New Year's Day was arrested in Nevada Tuesday evening on a homicide charge, authorities told CBS 5.

Johannes Mehserle was arrested about 6:20 p.m. by sheriff's deputies at a residence near Lake Tahoe. Douglas County Undersheriff  Paul Howell told CBS 5 that Mehserle was picked up on a California fugitive warrant signed by an Alameda County Superior Court judge.

The arrest warrant was for homicide, but Howell declined to provide more specifics about the charge.

He said the Oakland Police Dept. had notified Nevada authorities about the warrant and indicated that they believed Mehserle was in the Zephyr Cove area.

After contacting Mehserle's attorney, Christopher Miller of Sacramento, Howell said the lawyer called Mehserle and he immediately and peacefully surrendered to deputies upon walking out of a home. Miller could not immediately be reached for comment.

The 27-year-old Mehserle was being held without bail on a precautionary suicide watch in a segregated area of Douglas County's main jail in Minden.

He had an arraignment hearing to begin extradition proceedings scheduled for Wednesday morning in a Douglas County courtroom.

BART police chief Gary Gee and David Chai, chief of staff to Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, had also confirmed the arrest to CBS 5. But they, too, declined to discuss the specific charge against Mehserle.

The pair said Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff, who could not immediately be reached, would announce further details of the arrest Wednesday.

Witnesses said Mehserle shot 22-year-old Oscar Grant III in the back while he was lying facedown on a train platform at the Fruitvale BART station. Grant and others had been pulled off a train by BART officers after reports of fighting, as New Year's Eve revelers were shuttling home after midnight. 

The shooting was captured on amateur video — widely seen on television and the internet — and has led to violent protests, with Oakland bracing for another large demonstration on Wednesday evening.

Oakland attorney John Burris, who represents Grant's relatives in a $25 million wrongful death claim filed against the transit agency, said the family had mixed feelings after hearing of Mehserle's arrest.

"They're very happy that an arrest has taken place, but (Grant's mother Wanda Johnson) also recognizes that she has lost her son," said Burris.

Few legal analysts believed Mehserle would face first-degree murder charges because prosecutors would have to convince a jury that the officer had intended to kill Grant.

A second-degree murder charge carries a potential life sentence, but proving that Mehserle's actions were so outside the norm to warrant such a serious accusation could be difficult, experts said.

A less serious manslaughter charge either voluntary or involuntary was more likely, the analysts speculated.

Voluntary manslaughter carries up to nine years in prison and prosecutors need to convince a jury that the former transit officer's actions were "grossly dangerous or grossly negligent," said Golden Gate University law professor Peter Keane.

Involuntary manslaughter is a much less serious charge and could result in a sentence of probation. To convict Mehserle of that charge, legal experts said, a jury would have to conclude that he acted improperly but accidentally.

Former prosecutors, law school professors and other legal analysts said the case boils down to Mehserle's reason for pulling the trigger and his state of mind. Those are unknowns as Mehserle resigned from the BART police force and had refused to speak with investigators.

"I want to know why he did it," BART board member Carole Ward Allen said. "We've heard from everybody else but him. While I can't speak for the entire BART board, we want to make this process as transparent as possible."

Some have speculated that the officer may have intended to fire a stun gun but accidentally pulled his firearm instead.

Michael Rains, a former police officer who defends them now as a lawyer, said he expected Mehserle to raise a self-defense argument because he was responding to reports of a brawl and people had not been searched before he arrived at the train station.

Meantime, Oakland police were preparing for a large demonstration planned for Wednesday evening to protest Grant's shooting death. 

Police officials met Tuesday with protest organizers to discuss security plans for the event beginning at 4 p.m. on the steps of Oakland City Hall. Protesters also intended to march to the district attorney's office.

Organizers said late Tuesday that they would continue with the protest despite the arrest in the case.

Dereca Blackmon, the co-founder of the Coalition Against Police Execution, which was organizing Wednesday's protest, said she was pleased Mehserle was arrested but still wanted to know more details.

"We're disappointed that it took him fleeing the state in order for the law to take some action," she said. "Honestly this situation brings more questions than answers. Why was he fleeing?"

Several protests already have taken place, including one last week that turned violent. More than 120 people were arrested, and as many as 45 businesses were damaged in downtown Oakland.

Police said they expected about 1,000 people to turn out for Wednesday's protest.

Oakland City Councilmember Desley Brooks said she hoped the protest would be calmed by the news of Mehserle's arrest because "a lot of the anxiety was the fact that he wasn't arrested."

However, Brooks said the protesters still had a lot to voice their opinions about, including pressing for public oversight of the BART police department.

"The need of an oversight committee is paramount," Brooks said. "We need to make sure this doesn't happen again."

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