Felony charge added to case against Contra Costa deputy facing trial for 2018 shooting of Newark man

Contra Costa County prosecutors have added a second felony count against a Contra Costa County Sheriff’s deputy charged with the November 2018 killing of a Newark man.

Dep. Andrew Hall, already charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of 33-year-old Laudemar Arbodela, now faces a charge of assault with a firearm, according to legal documents from the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

Hall has pleaded not guilty to both counts. His trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 20.

Hall shot Arbodela during a slow-speed pursuit through the streets of Danville. Video shows Hall running around his own patrol car to face Arbodela’s silver Honda. The video shows Arbodela firing nine times into the windshield and passenger window while backpedalling as the car drives past.

Prosecutors originally tried to charge Hall with assault with a semi-automatic pistol but ultimately could not because they failed to ask about the caliber of pistol the deputy carried as part of his uniform.

The case is the first in Contra Costa County in which a felony charge has resulted from an on-duty police shooting. District Attorney Diana Becton made the decision to prosecute Hall on the day after a jury in Minnneapolis convicted police officer Derek Chauvin of killing George Floyd in that city last year.

In March, Hall shot and killed 32-year-old Tyrell Wilson, a homeless man living in Danville. The sheriff’s office said Wilson brandished a knife and took a small step toward Hall before Hall fired. Video of the incident has cast doubt upon their version of events.

The district attorney’s office charged Hall with manslaughter in April, after Hall initially was cleared in an internal probe by the Contra Costa Sheriff’s office and Sheriff David Livingston publicly defended him. Hall and the Sheriff’s office are facing civil lawsuits by both Wilson and Arboleda’s families.