San Rafael murder suspect to be prosecuted as an adult

After nearly two years of litigation in juvenile court, prosecutors have charged a 18-year-old Fairfax resident as an adult for a homicide that happened when he was a minor.

Daniel James Diaz was transferred from Marin County Juvenile Hall on Wednesday and booked into Marin County Jail on murder allegations. He is charged with shooting Errol Matthew Friedman in San Rafael.

Diaz is scheduled to appear in Marin County Superior Court on Oct. 16. Authorities previously withheld the suspect’s name because he was underage.

Deputy District Attorney Cassandra Edwards, who filed the murder charge on Tuesday, said the maximum sentence is 40 years to life in prison. The charge carries an enhanced potential sentence because it involved a gun.

The charge followed a ruling by Judge Beverly Wood that Diaz could be prosecuted as an adult. Diaz’s lawyer, Carmela Caramagno, said the ruling runs contrary to recent reforms in the juvenile justice system, and that the Legislature might need to step in to curb judicial discretion in such cases.

“I’m very disappointed,” Caramagno said. She said Diaz will plead not guilty, but she declined to comment on the allegations.

The shooting happened at about 6 p.m. Dec. 3, 2018, at Pickleweed Park on Canal Street. San Rafael police arrived to find Friedman, 21, dead inside a vehicle.

Witnesses reported seeing a male running away shortly after the shooting. The police searched the area and could not find a shooter that night, but they identified the teen as the suspect and made the arrest two days later.

San Rafael police declined to provide more information on their investigation. They have not said whether Friedman and the Fairfax teen knew each another beforehand.

Friedman, whose family lives in Sleepy Hollow, graduated from Sir Francis Drake High School in 2016 and attended the University of Portland until March 2017. He was a College of Marin student when he died.