ORINDA, Calif. — Prosecutors said Monday that they won’t immediately file criminal charges against five men arrested on suspicion of shooting up a San Francisco Bay Area Halloween party, killing five people.
The Contra Costa County district attorney’s office couldn’t meet the standard for filing charges by Monday’s deadline, spokesman Scott Alonso said.
“We need more information,” he said. “We are not ready to file charges and we will not file charges until we can.”
“This is a very complex case,” he added.
However, charges “absolutely” could be filed later, he said.
“If there’s more evidence that comes to light, we will certainly reevaluate it as it comes in,” Alonso said.
Because of the filing deadline, the men must be released from custody unless they have parole violations or warrants, Alonso said.
After a series of raids in several Bay Area cities, four men were arrested Thursday on suspicion of murder. The party promoter was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory.
The Oct. 31 shooting at an Airbnb rental home in quiet, upscale Orinda was a “bloodbath,” Contra Costa Sheriff David Livingston said last week.
Members of rival gangs from San Francisco and Marin City were among the estimated 100 people at the unsanctioned party, which was advertised on social media, he said.
Livingston said that an altercation started in the kitchen of the house, and witnesses told investigators someone had tried to steal someone else’s property, which may have precipitated the shooting.
Video showed some people tucking guns into their pants as they slipped past a front-door security guard, and some people went to the party “with intent of causing harm and conflict,” the sheriff said.
The shooting killed Tiyon Farley, 22, of Antioch; Omar Taylor, 24, of Pittsburg; Raymon Hill Jr., 23, of San Francisco and Oakland; Javlin County, 29, of Sausalito and Richmond; and Oshiana Tompkins, 19, of Vallejo and Hercules.
Two of the dead had guns, Livingston said.
Five people were injured, including one who jumped from a balcony to escape the gunfire.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has since said that the San Francisco-based company was taking steps to stop unauthorized parties in the wake of the deadly shooting.
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