OAKLAND — The attorney for a man accused of fatally shooting his half-brother has raised a possible self-defense theory in a failed bid to get him released from jail.
Matthew John, 21, was arrested and charged last month in the Feb. 22, 2023 shooting death of 22-year-old Joshua Hopkins. In a motion to set John’s bail to $40,000, deputy public defender Desiree Woods argued there was a possible self-defense case based on the police investigation’s conclusions.
“According to the (police) declaration of probable cause, the suspected shooter was pushed, punched in the face, followed to his car, and had a rock and a paint can thrown at him by the decedent,” Woods wrote in court filings.
A judge denied the motion earlier this month. In addition to the possible self-defense theory, Woods wrote that her client had secured a job at a moving company and wanted to get back to work.
Hopkins was shot and killed on the 2200 block of Seminary Avenue, at a second-floor apartment there. He was arguing with his killer just before the shooting, according to police. He was found lying on the sidewalk and pronounced dead.
Police said at the time that both Hopkins and his killer may have been visiting Hopkins’ ex-girlfriend, who lived in the area. An online fundraiser for Hopkins says his 3-month-old son was present and saw the shooting.
At the time of the fatal shooting, John was out of jail with a pending robbery case, in connection with a $98,000 armed robbery of a jewelry store in Berkeley. The armed robbers targeted the 14 Karats jewelry store on the 2900 block of College Avenue in Berkeley, about a month before Hopkins was killed, court records show.
John remains at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on a no-bail hold and is next due in court on April 22.