Days before a closely watched trial was set to begin, Alameda County prosecutors told a judge they cannot find the woman at the center of the bribery and perjury case against Oakland homicide Detective Phong Tran.
The witness, Aisha Weber, is the same person whose later statements helped unravel a 2016 murder conviction. Her testimony is so central to the new case that prosecutors are now asking a judge to order her to appear and to preserve key evidence in case she never shows up. Tran has pleaded not guilty and remains on administrative leave from the Oakland Police Department while the district attorney’s office tries to hold the case together.
Prosecutors Say Star Witness Warned She Would Move Where She Cannot Be Found
In a recent court filing, Alameda County prosecutors said Weber told investigators she planned to relocate to a place where she can’t be found. According to the filing, their last in-person contact with her was on Oct. 31, 2025. When they returned to her home on Nov. 17, 2025, the residence was empty.
The district attorney’s office has asked the court to compel Weber to appear at Tran’s trial, which is scheduled to begin March 2, 2026, and to allow her previous testimony to be preserved for potential use at trial. Those details were laid out in court papers reviewed by The Mercury News.
Recantation That Toppled Old Convictions
Years ago, Weber signed a sworn declaration saying she had lied on the stand in the earlier murder case. She also alleged that she received about $30,000 in connection with her testimony. That recantation, along with the history of undisclosed payments surrounding her statements, prompted prosecutors and judges to take a hard second look at the old case.
Her about-face and the payment trail were reported in depth by The Oaklandside. After those revelations, the convictions of Giovonte Douglas and Cartier Hunter were vacated, as covered by The Berkeley Scanner.
Charges, Plea And Internal Department Fallout
Alameda County prosecutors have charged Tran with multiple perjury-related counts, along with an allegation of bribery of a witness. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and has been placed on leave from the Oakland Police Department while the criminal case and a broader review of his past work move forward.
The charges and the district attorney’s larger review of cases tied to Tran were first reported when the indictment became public. SFGate provided initial coverage of the charges.
How Prior Testimony Could Come In If Weber Stays Missing
If Weber cannot be brought into court, prosecutors may try to rely on California’s “former testimony” rule. That rule allows testimony from prior hearings to be used at trial if prosecutors show that the witness is truly unavailable and that the defense already had a meaningful opportunity to cross-examine the witness.
Courts have also required that prosecutors prove they made good faith efforts to locate and secure the witness before falling back on earlier testimony, a standard rooted in Evidence Code section 1291 and later case law. Analyses collected by Stanford outline how that rule has been applied.
What Happens Next
Prosecutors have asked the court to compel Weber to appear and signaled that they will spend the coming weeks arguing over what evidence can come in at trial if she does not. Defense lawyers are expected to push for a delay or to fight the use of any prior testimony if Weber remains unavailable.
The judge will have to sort through those competing demands and decide whether the case can proceed as scheduled in March, or whether the missing witness forces a reset in one of Oakland’s most closely watched police misconduct prosecutions.
