Oakland’s new prosecutor has signaled she is intent on being tougher on criminals than her unpopular progressive predecessor.
Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson broke with her predecessor Pamela Price as she filed charges that could land an alleged murderer in prison without the possibility of parole, which Price had refused to do.
Price was a vocal opponent of adding special circumstances enhancements to even the most heinous of cases, and her leniency in tackling crime led her to be recalled by furious residents last year as the city descended into chaos.
Price’s office had refused to add special circumstances enhancements to the case of Shane Killian, 55, who allegedly murdered five of his family members in Alameda, including his 1 and 6-year-old sons, in July 2024.
Price’s office had been similarly lenient with other brutal cases such as East Bay serial killer David Misch, who is eligible for parole in 50 years despite murdering at least four people.
Killian was initially hit with five murder charges under Price’s leadership, but the former DA did not include a multiple victim enhancement that would make him eligible for life without parole.
This decision was reversed by Dickson in one of her first moves since replacing Price, as she formed a ‘special circumstances’ committee that agreed to move ahead with upgraded charges against Killian, per Mercury News.
Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson broke with her soft-on-crime predecessor as she filed charges that could land an alleged murderer in prison without the possibility of parole
Dickson made the decision in the case of Shane Killian, 55, who allegedly murdered five of his family members in Alameda, including his 1 and 6-year-old sons, in July 2024
Dickson made the move as one of her first actions since taking over as Alameda County District Attorney from Pamela Price (pictured), who was recalled by voters for her soft-on-crime policies
The decision over whether Killian’s charges will be enhanced to possibly remove his chance at parole will be decided by Judge Clifford Blakely on April 11.
Blakely will rule on a motion filed by Killian’s defense not to allow the district attorney’s office to upgrade the charges.
The alleged killer’s defense argued that the matter of his charges had been settled under the previous administration, and said there was ‘no valid reason for the deviation from the original charging decision.’
‘Nothing in this case appears to have charged other than the District Attorney’s own administration,’ they said.
Prosecutors usually have leniency when amending and upgrading criminal complaints, with the soft policies enacted by Price the reason that Dickson was elected to succeed her in the first place.
Price was elected in 2022 on a platform of reducing prison incarceration rates and rode the wave of the Black Lives Matter movement into office.
But she quickly made herself an unpopular figure in Oakland with soft-on-crime decisions while in office, with violent crime soaring in the city 21 percent after she took over.
Price then claimed that efforts to boot her from office were ‘racist.’
Violent crime in Oakland soared after Price took over as DA as she became known for her soft-on-crime policies
One of Price’s most controversial moves was her refusal to seek special enhancements against East Bay serial killer David Misch, which means he would have the possibility of parole despite killing at least four people
Price also refused to seek upgraded charges in Killian’s case (pictured with his wife), which officials branded a ‘tragedy’
She refused to seek enhancements in several high-profile cases, including the serial killer case of Misch, and sparked fury with her decision over Killian’s case.
In that case, Killian allegedly shot his wife, one and six-year-old sons, and his in-laws in a horrific spree in their California home.
Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi described the incident as ‘tragedy’, telling The Mercury News that ‘these are the actions of a coward.’
Prosecutors say Killian called 911 and claimed his wife murdered the family, and a neighbor allegedly claimed his father-in-law told him that Killian was the shooter before he passed away.
Killian is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail, and his case is on hold before the hearing is held on his special circumstances charges on Friday morning.