DA: East Bay resident used ax to murder homeless man
MARTINEZ — In charging documents filed Thursday, Contra Costa County prosecutors allege that an El Cerrito homicide victim was killed with an ax.
Michael Ray-West Hill, 37, was charged with murdering Larry Lawson Sr. in El Cerrito. The charges include an enhancement alleging use of an ax in the killing, and also that Hill was lying in wait before attacking Lawson.
Lawson’s body was found 11:18 p.m. March 30, when El Cerrito police and fire crews responded to a report of a man down on the sidewalk in the 11300 block of San Pablo Avenue, a short distance from the El Cerrito del Norte BART station. They found an “unconscious transient man” with wounds on his body lying on the sidewalk, police said.
After obtaining surveillance video images and sharing with other law enforcement agencies, a BART police officer identified Michael Hill, of Richmond, as a suspect. Officers obtained a warrant for Hill’s arrest. On Saturday, the same BART officer arrested Hill just after 7 p.m., at BART’s Richmond station.
Hill remains in Contra Costa County jail, and has an arraignment set for 1:30 p.m. Friday.