Defendant in Bay Point homicide pleads to robbery charge

MARTINEZ — A 23-year-old man took a plea deal to settle murder charges, agreeing to a nine-year prison term in the process, court records show.

Ramon Brown, a Bay Area resident, accepted a robbery conviction and will be formally sentenced later this year, prosecutors said.

Brown was charged with murdering Andre Piazza, 18. Brown’s co-defendant, Donald Jeter, 23, also faces murder and robbery charges in Piazza’s death, but is still in jail at Alameda County, where he faces charges of robbing a KPIX news van and shooting a security guard.

In Brown’s preliminary hearing, a key prosecution witness identified Jeter as the shooter but said Brown assisted in setting up and robbing the victim.

According to testimony at Brown’s 2019 preliminary hearing, Piazza tried to buy a gun from Jeter the day he was killed. He and a friend — who would later testify for the prosecution — showed up at their planned meeting, where Jeter allegedly pretended to hand Piazza the gun, then initiated the robbery. Brown pointed a gun at Piazza’s friend, the witness claimed.

Brown will get time credits for the two years he has spent at county jail awaiting a resolution in his case.