After six years, twice-convicted killer is ordered to stand trial on new Oakland murder charge
OAKLAND — Six years after he was arrested and charged with murder in an Oakland shooting that preceded a bizarre series of police chases, a 56-year-old man has been ordered to stand trial, court records show.
William Epting, of Oakland, is one of Santa Rita Jail’s longest occupants, and his past six years behind bars have been storied. Charged with killing a man for the third time in his life, Epting was coerced by Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies to throw urine and feces at disfavored inmates, and later testified against the deputies in one of the jail’s biggest corruption scandals in recent memory. He has also cycled through four different lawyers, the latest of which is arguing that authorities failed to recognized obvious signs that Epting was mentally ill when they detained and questioned him in 2017.
Epting, who has two prior manslaughter convictions, is charged with killing Edgar Trammel, his neighbor, in a July 22, 2017 shooting on the 2700 block of 75th Avenue in Oakland. Afterward, Epting allegedly fled the area in an easily-recognizable 1999 Mercury Mystique, then returned to the area several times, only to be noticed by police and chased. He did this three times, evading capture on the first two go-rounds, then crashed his car and was arrested the third time, according to authorities.
After being arrested, Epting allegedly asked for a laywer and a psychiatrist. At Epting’s March preliminary hearing, Oakland police Det. Jose Barocio described what happened next.
“(Epting) proceeded to defecate on himself, take off his clothing, and rub himself with feces,” Barocio said, according to a transcript of the hearing released in late May.
Epting was identified as the person who killed Trammel by one of their neighbors, who took the witness stand and denied having made the identification. She also denied being in correspondence with Epting while he was in prison, but Barocio testified that as police were processing the crime scene, she both ID’d him as the shooter and admitted to having been in touch with Epting during his incarceration.
Epting’s lawyer, Ernie Castillo, tried and failed to convince Judge James Cramer that the murder charge couldn’t be valid because police and prosecutors had failed to evaluate Epting’s mental health at the time, despite obvious signs that it had deteriorated. Castillo argued that without knowing Epting’s mental state at the time of the shooting, the most prosecutors could possibly prove was a manslaughter charge.
Epting is next due in court in August, where a judge will consider a defense motion to dismiss the case. If that is denied, the next thing for attorneys to do is agree upon a trial date or start negotiating a plea deal.