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May 15, 2008 9:42 pm US/Pacific
Suspect In Berkeley Shooting Turns Himself In
BERKELEY (BCN) ―
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Evidence markers on the pavement at the scene of Tuesday's shooting in Berkeley.
CBS
A 19-year-old Berkeley man who was arrested on murder charges for the shooting death of 33-year-old Maceo Anthony Smith one block south of the University of California, Berkeley campus Tuesday will make his first appearance in court Friday afternoon, police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said Thursday.
Kusmiss said Nathaniel Curtis Freeman also was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly shooting a second male victim who survived the incident on the sidewalk in front of the Pacific Film Archive on Durant Avenue just east of Bowditch Street about 3:50 p.m. Tuesday.
Kusmiss said Freeman knew detectives were looking for him and turned himself in at the Berkeley police station at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
She said Freeman was accompanied by a lawyer and declined to be interviewed about the shooting incident.
Kusmiss said that although Freeman was arrested Wednesday, the arrest was not announced until Thursday because photo line-ups had to be conducted without witnesses being compromised.
She described the second victim as an acquaintance of Smith who was his former brother-in-law. Police aren't releasing the man's name because he was a victim of a violent crime, she said.
According to Kusmiss, after Smith was shot he staggered across both Durant Avenue and Bowditch Street and collapsed in a parking lot at 2542 Durant Ave. The lot is next to the well-known Top Dog hot dog stand at 2534 Durant Ave. Smith, who lived in Berkeley and previously attended Berkeley High School, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kusmiss said the second victim got into his silver Cadillac, abandoned Smith and drove himself to Highland Hospital in Oakland, where he was treateding gunshot wounds and released.
She said investigators determined that Freeman and the second victim had had a previous encounter in which they had exchanged words.
Kusmiss said the second victim spotted Freeman in an area south of the university campus Tuesday afternoon and the two men argued over their previous exchange.
She said detectives described the dispute as "an argument over nothing."
Kusmiss said Freeman and the second victim argued as they walked eastbound on Durant Avenue from the intersection of Durant and Telegraph avenues.
She said that when the two men crossed Bowditch Street and were outside the Pacific Film Archive, the second victim telephoned Smith, who then drove to the scene.
Kusmiss said Smith joined the second victim in arguing with Freeman.
She said Freeman pulled out a gun at the southwest corner of Durant Avenue and Bowditch Street and shot both Smith and the second victim.
Freeman fled the area on foot, according to Kusmiss.
No weapons have been recovered, she said.
There's no indication at this time that Smith or the second victim shot at Freeman, Kusmiss said.
Court records indicate that Smith had a lengthy arrest record, including for illegal gun and drug charges, and Berkeley police say they had extensive contact with him over the years.
Smith is survived by three children.
Freeman is scheduled to appear in Alameda County Superior Court 2 p.m. Friday.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
