OAKLAND — A Bay Area man has been sentenced to nine years in state prison for a 2024 burglary that resulted in the death of a suspect, but not at the hands of the defendant.
David Washington, 39, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the March 2024 shooting death of 39-year-old Charles Calloway. Police said Calloway was killed by the resident of a home on the 1300 block of 102nd Avenue in East Oakland but Washington was charged with murder under the legal theory that he and Calloway forced the man to use lethal force in self-defense.
Washington’s murder charge was dropped after he pleaded no contest to manslaughter, as part of the plea deal. He was formally sentenced on May 20, records show.
But court filings by the defense paint both men as good Samaritans who weren’t necessarily bound by the law. The filing says that everything started that day when a woman’s rental car was stolen, with her phone inside, on March 15, 2024.
The woman tracked her phone to the home where the shooting took place, then she, her daughter, Calloway, and Washington allegedly stood outside and demanded the phone be returned. When they were met with no response, Calloway and Washington allegedly kicked in the door, and a man inside shot and killed Calloway.
Washington’s lawyer declined to comment on the plea deal. Had Washington been convicted as originally charged, he faced a life sentence. The plea deal gives him credit for the year he spent in jail after his arrest.