Tashina Manyak

OAKLAND — A raucous public demonstration against the minimum sentence delivered to Johannes Mehserle turned into a nighttime march through the streets of Oakland Friday night, resulting in more than one hundred arrests and leaving two people injured, including a police officer.

Police estimate approximately 500 people gathered in front of Oakland City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza to decry Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry’s decision to assign the former BART Police officer a two-year sentence with a 292 day credit for good behavior for the shooting death of Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale BART station on January 1, 2009.

On Friday morning, one of the final chapters of a tragic high-profile Bay Area story will be written.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge is set to sentence former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle on Friday for the shooting death of passenger Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale BART station platform on January 1, 2009.

The defense for Johannes Mehserle, the former BART Police officer convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting of unarmed passenger Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale BART Station New Year’s Day 2009, has filed a motion seeking a new trial, claiming “newly discovered evidence” supports Mehserle’s case.

As Johannes Mehserle’s sentencing date nears, family members, friends and supports of the 22-year-old Hayward man he fatally shot nearly two years ago are ramping up their efforts to mobilize community groups and push for the maximum possible sentence for the ex-BART Police officer.

A crowd of about 20 advocates for Johannes Mehserle gathered in Dublin yesterday to show their support for the former BART police officer in jail for killing an unarmed train passenger last year.

The rally was held in front of Dublin City Hall; it was the third public demonstration in Mehserle’s defense since July 8, when a Los Angeles jury found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting Oscar Grant.

(7/19) — 21:35 PDT — WALNUT CREEK — Two dueling protests, one in support of former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle and another on behalf of the unarmed passenger he fatally shot, started and ended peacefully despite verbal clashes in front of the Walnut Creek courthouse Monday afternoon.

A boisterous crowd of 300 people, who divided themselves into two groups according to their message, alternated between trading taunts that often escalated to shouting matches and chanting passionate slogans of support for either Mehserle and law enforcement personnel or shooting victim Oscar Grant.

(7/16) — 23:16 PDT — WALNUT CREEK — Supporters of former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle are planning a rally at 2 p.m. Monday in front of the Walnut Creek courthouse — the first such public rally after 18 months of protests denouncing Mehserle.

Not all Oakland residents are upset by the broken windows, dumpsters set ablaze, spray-painted graffiti and looted merchandise that characterized a small nighttime riot hours after former BART officer Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter July 8 for killing an unarmed train passenger.

(7/9) — UPDATED 16:25 PDT — OAKLAND – In a letter released by his lawyer today, Johannes Mehserle, the former BART Police officer convicted of involuntary manslaughter for shooting an unarmed train passenger, expressed his remorse and said he never intended to shoot Oscar Grant.

In the handwritten letter, dated July 4 — four days before the verdict was reached — Mehserle asked his attorney Michael Rains to disseminate it to the public, which he did so on Friday.

(7/9) — UPDATED 14:15 PDT — OAKLAND — A large, peaceful gathering of people in Downtown Oakland following former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle’s conviction for involuntary manslaughter was followed by violence as the sun set.

Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts blamed the violence, which included looting shops and setting dumpsters on fire, on a small group of about 50 anarchists.