Oakland: Defendants in 2017 killing avoid more jail time through plea deals

OAKLAND — Two men have been sentenced to five years in state prison for a 2017 fatal shooting here, though both had already served their sentence and were released on bail at the time the plea deal was struck.

One of the defendants, Isaiah Scott, agreed to cooperate against his co-defendant, Keith Lamont Smith, and took the stand for Smith’s February 2018 preliminary hearing, court records show. But in the end, the result was the same for both men. Scott pleaded no contest to attempted murder and Smith to assault with a firearm, and they both received a five-year prison sentence, court records show.

The charges stemmed from a conflict that culminated with the June 23, 2017 shooting death of 18-year-old Frank Avery, who was found dead inside a stolen vehicle that had collided with several parked cars near the intersection of Seminary Ave and Foothill Boulevard. Scott testified at the preliminary hearing that he was riding with Avery in a vehicle that also contained a third man, who mentioned having “problems” with a woman.

Scott testified that Smith pulled up in a vehicle alongside them and fired into the car, striking Avery. He admitted to later shooting at the woman his friend had mentioned having problems with, because “she was sending people to follow us.” He denied using a gun in the car to fire back at Smith.

Smith’s attorney argued at the hearing that another person in the car identified a different man as the shooter, and that person had threatened Avery on a prior occasion, according to a transcript of the hearing.

In 2021, Smith was released from jail after posting $350,000 to cover a $5 million bail, and Scott was released by a judge on his own recognizance. At the time of their sentencing hearings, both men were deemed to have fully completed their five-year prison terms while on pretrial detention at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, records show.