OAKLAND — Citing “public safety,” an Alameda County judge has quashed a deal that would have allowed a murder suspect to walk free more than six years after he allegedly killed a man on International Boulevard.
Last April, 32-year-old Bryon Revels pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter, with the expectation of being sentenced to six years he’d already served behind bars. But during his June sentencing hearing, Judge Kimberly Colwell called a private sidebar with the prosecuting and defense attorneys, then returned to the bench and announced the deal wouldn’t be going through.
“I cannot agree to this because I don’t believe it protects the public safety,” Colwell said, according to a transcript of the hearing. She later added she wanted the lawyers to try and “resolve this” and said, “I’m not asking him to withdraw his plea at this time. I guess we’ll just postpone this.”
Judge rarely reject plea deals in homicide cases — this is the first such instance under Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson, who was sworn in last February — but when they do the effects can be jarring. Notable examples include a deal over the deadly Ghost Ship fire, which fell apart after dozens of victims’ family members spoke out. In 2023, a judge rejected a plea deal for a triple-murder suspect in Oakland, leading ex-DA Pamela Price to criticize the judge, drop two of the murder charges, and send the deal back to the same court, which eventually approved it.
Revels’ case, by contrast, has received almost no public attention since it was filed in 2019. He is accused of fatally shooting 22-year-old Donald Smith Jr. on New Year’s Eve 2018, at the 8800 block of International Boulevard in Oakland. He was arrested four months later after being identified by witnesses and electronic surveillance, according to court records.
Last April, when Revels pleaded no contest to manslaughter, Deputy District Attorney John Ullom noted that Smith’s family was present in court.
“They are not in agreement with the offer and at the time of sentencing they will address the court as it relates to that,” Ullom said, according to a transcript of the hearing. He didn’t explain why prosecutors had agreed to the six-year term, but made it clear that the sentencing would be a “paper commitment,” meaning Revels was set to be free once a judge formally approved the deal.
Because Colwell rejected the deal at the sentencing hearing, Smith’s family wasn’t given a chance to speak in court. Should a new plea deal materialize, family members will be afforded a chance to make a public statement.
Two months after Colwell’s rejection, no new plea deal has been announced. Neither Revels’ lawyer, Ernie Castillo, nor a spokesman for Jones Dickson’s office has publicly commented on where negotiations have gone. The parties are expected to appear in court and give an update on Sept. 19.
In the meantime, Revels remains behind bars at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, and cannot be bailed out.