The protracted search for a third suspect in the 2021 killing of retired officer Kevin Nishita reached its conclusion earlier this month, as law enforcement finally apprehended Laron Marques Gilbert in Missouri. Gilbert was nabbed in Kansas City after eluding capture for nearly two years and is expected to be booked into the Santa Rita Jail, according to KRON4.
Nishita, working as a security guard for a KRON4 news crew, was fatally shot in Oakland in what appeared to be an attempted robbery gone awry. After a brief struggle, the suspects fled, leaving Nishita to die days later. Gilbert, now 29, is accused of driving the getaway car during the tragic incident and has been charged with first-degree murder. When it attempted to arrest Gilbert in a Missouri parking lot, law enforcement faced a fleeting escape as he dashed across a highway but was eventually caught, as detailed by KGO.
Virginia Nishita, Kevin's widow, expressed her family's profound gratitude for the diligence of the law enforcement agencies responsible for the capture of all three suspects. "I just want to say thank you from Kevin and our family," she said in a KRON4 interview. "Thank you to the Oakland Police Department, the US Marshals and all of the law enforcement agencies that were involved In this capture. Thank you to the community and everyone who helped."
In the turn of events, contradicting earlier reports, Oakland Police Department officials stated that another suspect, Shadihia Mitchell, was the one who fired the shot that killed Nishita. Nonetheless, the District Attorney initially charged Mitchell with murder but later dropped enhancement charges, now claiming he was not the shooter. Police maintain Gilbert, initially identified by the DA as the shooter, was likely the driver, as reported by KGO. Both men along with a third accomplice, Hershel Hale, are facing charges of murder and attempted robbery.
Despite the severity of the accusations, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price has controversially removed sentencing enhancements that would have enabled a no-parole life sentence. The decision is consistent with Price's office's stance on other severe cases, as noted by Hoodline. Gilbert is currently held at the Jackson County Detention Center, awaiting his extradition to California, which is set for Tuesday.
