Man Charged In Death Of Oakland High School Senior
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A suspect has been charged with murder for the shooting death of a well-liked 17-year-old senior at the Castlewood Leadership Preparatory High School in East Oakland, Oakland police said Tuesday.
Michael Heartsman-Anthony, a 22-year-old Oakland man, was arrested last Wednesday for the shooting of Ditiyan Franklin Jr. in the 2400 block of Ritchie Street around 2:30 p.m. on May 25, but Oakland police waited until late today to announce his arrest.
Franklin was weeks away from graduation when the shooting occurred.
Alameda County Chief Assistant District Attorney Kevin Dunleavy said Heartsman-Anthony was arraigned Friday and returned to court Monday to be assigned an attorney. Heartsman-Anthony is scheduled to return to court soon to enter a plea.
The Castlemont campus, which hosts three small schools, including the Leadership Preparatory High School, is located at 8601 MacArthur Blvd., which is about five blocks away from the shooting scene.
Oakland police spokeswoman Sgt. Holly Joshi said Heartsman-Anthony has denied being involved in the shooting.
Dunleavy said Heartsman was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and with attempted murder because another person was standing in the line of fire when Franklin was shot. That person was not injured.
Joshi said Heartsman-Anthony shot at Franklin as Franklin rode a bicycle in the 2400 block of Ritchie Street.
She said Franklin dismounted the bicycle and tried to run away, but Heartsman-Anthony chased him and fatally shot him.
Joshi said homicide investigators believe the shooting stemmed from a dispute between Heartsman-Anthony and Franklin, who knew each other.
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