Man who allegedly shot mother on Livemore freeway charged with gun crimes, but not shooting

LIVERMORE — An Oakland man who allegedly accidentally shot his mother Jan. 24 on Interstate 580 inside a vehicle that also had three children as passengers has been charged with seven crimes, but none for the actual shooting, according to authorities and court documents.

The 41-year-old man was charged Tuesday with felony counts of possession of an assault weapon, manufacture/sale of a large capacity magazine, carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle and carrying a loaded firearm in public. He was also charged with three misdemeanor counts of cruelty to a child by endangering health relating to the three children inside the vehicle at the time; boys, 2 and 6 years old, and a 7-year-old girl, the documents say.

Authorities said no charges were filed for the actual shooting because the man gave a reasonable account of what happened and it would be difficult to prove it was not accidental.

He was arrested after the shooting and booked at Santa Rita Jail but was released Wednesday on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to enter a plea March 16.

According to court documents, the man made a 911 call to the California Highway Patrol about 5:34 p.m. Saturday saying he had accidentally shot one of his passengers while driving on Interstate 580 near Fallon Road. The CHP said the shooting victim was his 60-year-old mother.

The man drove his Jeep Cherokee off the freeway to a parking lot the 3000 block of W. Jack London Boulevard, where he flagged down a CHP officer responding to the scene. He told the officer he had dropped the gun on eastbound I-580 west of Fallon Road.

His mother was found inside the Jeep on the right front seat suffering from a gunshot wound to her left hip. She was transported to a hospital

None of the children were injured. The girl and oldest boy are the man’s children and the other boy is his nephew, the documents say. They were later released to relatives.

The CHP recovered the gun, a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, in the area the man said he had dropped it. The gun turned out to be unregistered and had a high-capacity magazine with an unknown number of rounds inside, the records say.

The man was taken to the CHP Dublin office where, according to court records, he recounted what happened as he and his mother were driving from Oakland to Lathrop to visit family.

According to the records, while driving on I-580 eastbound, west of Fallon Road, the man said he told his mother, who was talking with the children, “Mom, I’m going to pull my firearm out.” He told officers the firearm was uncomfortable and he was attempting to relocate it under the driver’s seat. The man said he placed one hand on the slide of the firearm and pulled it directly up from his waistband, then heard a loud bang, the records say. When he saw his mother had been shot, he parked the Jeep on the freeway shoulder and called 911.

Authorities said the man carried the gun for self-defense purposes.

The man told officers that during his 911 call to the CHP “and panic,” the firearm fell out of the Jeep and onto the left shoulder, the records say. He told officers he had no intentions of firing the firearm and it was an accidental discharge, the records say.