A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 3 on former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle’s bid to be released on bail while he appeals his involuntary manslaughter conviction for the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant III, court officials said this morning.
On Nov. 5, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry sentenced Mehserle, 28, to two years in state prison for killing Grant, a 22-year-old Hayward man, at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland on Jan. 1, 2009.
Mehserle, who said he mistakenly used his gun instead of his Taser, could have faced anything from probation to 14 years in state prison.
His trial was moved to Los Angeles because of concerns about whether he could get a fair trial in Alameda County due to the extensive media coverage the shooting has received in the Bay Area.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office sought to have Mehserle convicted of second-degree murder.
When Perry sentenced Mehserle, he threw out a jury’s finding that Mehserle intentionally fired his gun at Grant.
Prosecutor David Stein and defense attorney Michael Rains couldn’t be reached for comment today.
On the day that Mehserle was sentenced, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said she will “evaluate all legal options” and will consider filing an appeal of the sentence.
Jeff Shuttleworth, Bay City News
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