Apr 23, 2008 8:45 pm US/Pacific
Closing Arguments In E. Bay Student Murder Case
OAKLAND (BCN) ―
A prosecutor asked jurors Wednesday to convict Christopher Hollis of either first- or second-degree murder for firing the shot that killed his close friend Meleia Willis-Starbuck, a popular Berkeley High School graduate and Dartmouth College student, nearly three years ago.
In his closing argument in Hollis's trial in Alameda County Superior Court, Deputy District Attorney Elgin Lowe said he believes Hollis, a 24-year-old Hayward man, definitely is guilty of second-degree murder for firing at least four shots from a .30-caliber gun toward a crowd in an incident near the intersection of College Avenue and Dwight Way in Berkeley about 2 a.m. on July 17, 2005, because his actions were dangerous to human life.
Lowe said Hollis, who attended Berkeley High School with Willis-Starbuck, and two other men responded to her call for help after she and several female friends got into a confrontation with 7 to 10 University of California, Berkeley football players who at first tried to pick up the women and then insulted them after their advances were rebuffed.
Lowe told jurors that they also have the option of convicting Hollis of first-degree murder because he fired four or five shots and had time to reflect on his actions before aiming again and pulling the trigger for his final shots.
Hollis's lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Greg Syren, admitted that Hollis fired the bullet that killed Willis-Starbuck, but he said Hollis should only be convicted of voluntary manslaughter because he "had no intent to kill anyone" and was only trying to disperse the crowd of people who were gathered on the street that morning.
Syren said Hollis "was incredulous" and "in dismay" when he later found out that one of his shots killed Willis-Starbuck, who had recently completed her freshman year at Dartmouth and had returned to Berkeley to take a summer job providing social and health services to low-income women.
A forensic toxicologist who testified as a defense witness said on Tuesday that a blood test showed that Willis-Starbuck had a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 percent and a urine test showed that her level was 0.19 percent. Both levels are considerably higher than the 0.08 percent level at which adults in California are considered too drunk to drive.
Syren, who told jurors, "I've endeavored to be as straight as I can about what this case is about," said he agreed with Lowe that the evidence in Hollis's case indicates he should be found guilty of assault with a firearm for apparently causing a minor injury to UC Berkeley football player Gary Doxy, who was grazed on his right wrist after Hollis opened fire.
Syren also admitted that Hollis is guilty of being an ex-felon in possession of a handgun, as he was convicted of selling marijuana for sale in 2002 and wasn't supposed to be carrying any weapons.
Lowe said the incident was not an accident because Hollis didn't fire the gun accidentally and in fact fired it at least four times.
Lowe said Hollis "was not trying to legally defend the victim (Willis-Starbuck) because he didn't even see her when he and two friends drove to the scene and therefore had no reason to believe that she was in imminent peril."
The prosecutor said he believes the reason that Hollis opened fire is that he wanted to "certify his reputation" on the street in Berkeley.
Lowe said that in a tape-recorded call from jail when he was arrested two months after Willis-Starbuck was killed, Hollis bragged about the shooting, telling a friend, "They don't call me C4 for nothing," referring to his nickname, which refers to an explosive.
Lowe said that if Hollis truly believed he was justified in firing shots he wouldn't have hid from authorities for more than two months and instead would have come forward and said he fired the shots only because he thought they were necessary to save Willis-Starbuck's life.
Jurors will begin deliberating Hollis's fate late Thursday morning after Lowe presents his rebuttal closing argument.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
