San Leandro recording studio boss charged with murder
OAKLAND — The manager of a San Leandro recording studio has been arrested and charged with murder on the grounds that he allegedly stood over a woman and fired a shot into her chest during a violent confrontation.
Leo Evans, 44, of Oakland, was charged with murdering 40-year-old Jennifer Jordan and attempting to murder a man who was with Jordan during an argument outside a liquor store in the unincorporated community of Ashland. The shooting occurred 9:47 p.m. on Feb. 9, outside a liquor store at East 14th Street near 151st Avenue, court records show.
Police say that the two victims confronted Evans and that the man threatened him with a baton, but also that Evans produced a gun, fired a shot that ricocheted off of Jordan’s chin, causing her to fall to the ground. Jordan — who required a walker to get around — stayed on the pavement while Evans allegedly walked up and fired at her from a short distance.
Evans then allegedly turned the gun on the man, firing several shots as the victim attempted to swat away his gun with the baton. He then allegedly ran from the area.
Authorities say that Evans is the manager of a recording studio called Royal Productionz LLC, which is a short distance from where the shooting occurred. They identified him in part from photographs from the studio’s social media pages, compared to surveillance footage from the studio.
Evans was buying a sandwich at a restaurant across the street from the liquor store, when he said something offensive to Jordan. Jordan and the man then followed Evans to the liquor store and accosted him while he was buying a bottle of tequila, leading to the violent confrontation, authorities said.
The recording studio’s social media pages appear to be run by Evans. In May, the studio announced it was “temporarily closed” but kept its socials active.
Evans was arrested on Oct. 30 and denied involvement in the shooting. He was charged on Nov. 1. Police say they spoke to a person who picked Evans up on the night of the homicide and identified him from the surveillance footage.
Evans is being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin without bail. He is set to enter a plea on Nov. 19, according to court records.