Charges in Kevin Nishita case bring relief to friends; police still seeking one suspect

Authorities on Thursday hailed charges in the case of a slain security guard and former police officer who was fatally shot last year protecting a TV news crew – even as a search continued for a third person still on the run.

Oakland police leaders on Thursday trumpeted the arrests of two men and recent charges against three in connection with the case, but released little in the way of new details. Even so, those who knew Nishita reacted with bittersweet relief at any developments in the case – especially after earlier pronouncements of arrests last year were not followed soon after by public news of charges.

The men are charged in the killing of Kevin Nishita, whose death became a flashpoint amid the rising tide of violence across Oakland last year. Nishita was shot and killed in November while working with a KRON television news crew — journalists covering a robbery at an Oakland store when they, themselves, were robbed.

“There were many of us here wondering where they were in the case,” said Colma Police Department Commander Sherwin Lum, who worked with Nishita for six years in the small Peninsula town. He commended the work of Oakland detectives. “It was just a matter of just trying to be patient and just trusting the process.

“You can say that there’s some level of comfort there, but at the same time, it doesn’t bring any joy,” added Lum of the arrests. “Kevin’s still gone, and that still makes it very difficult for us.”

Investigators suspect Shadihia Mitchell, 25, pulled the trigger that left Nishita mortally wounded on Nov. 24, said Oakland police Chief LeRonne Armstrong. Mitchell was arrested Wednesday by U.S. Marshals in San Francisco, Armstrong said.

Alameda County prosecutors said Thursday that they had charged Mitchell, along with two others — Hershel Hale and Laron Marques Gilbert — with murder, attempted second degree robbery and assault with a semi-automatic firearm. Mitchell was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Hale, 24, was already in custody at the San Francisco jail, where he had been held since Feb. 9, Armstrong said.

Still wanted was Gilbert, 27. He was one of the two people — along with the suspected gunman, Mitchell — who were arrested in December on an unrelated parole violation. But Armstrong said: “the investigation was not at a point for charging at that point.” He was later released on bail.

“We have been tracking his whereabouts and we are continuing to pursue all leads that we get, but again, we have not located him yet,” Armstrong said.

Mitchell also was released after serving time for his probation revocation, according to Oakland police. He has had previous convictions in Alameda County and San Francisco, court documents show.

Mitchell was on probation at the time of the Nishita shooting for a 2020 case, where investigators say he sprayed bullets at a Fourth of July block party in East Oakland, according to court and arrest documents.

He later pleaded no contest to possession of a firearm by a felon, court records show. At the time, numerous other charges were dropped, including attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic firearm, shooting at an inhabited dwelling and shooting at an unoccupied vehicle. He served time in jail and was released earlier this year.

The arrests brought a sense of closure to some of Nishita’s friends, who remembered him Thursday as a dedicated lawman and member of a Buddhist temple in Mountain View.

“He was one of my best sergeants, and he did everything the right way,” said Lum, the Colma police commander. “He treated people fairly. He went out and did his job, and did it diligently.”

After working for the San Jose Police Department, Nishita worked in Colma for from 2012 to 2018, and he was promoted to sergeant the same day that Lum became a commander in 2014. It was during that time that Lum saw Nishita grow to be a well-regarded member of the community, not just a man with a badge.

While many police officers choose to work as security guards in retirement to stay active and earn a little extra cash, the job seemed to have a greater significance for Nishita.

“He was a protector himself,” Lum said. “And his family mentioned that quite often, that that was his nature.”

Nishita’s death rocked the Bay Area. When not in uniform, Nishita often volunteered at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple, said Julie Nakatani, a member of the Buddhist temple.

“It’s sort of part of a closure,” Nakatani said. “You can’t take things back, but at least that somebody’s accountable for the crime.”

Nishita also recently received the Radio Television Digital News Foundation’s citation of courage award during a reception hosted by the foundation in Washington D.C., KRON4 reported.