By Tatiana Gasca
ALAMEDA, CA – Proceedings continued in a jury trial Alameda County Superior Court last week and, although no details were available, a glimpse of the criminal proceeding was reported at a preliminary hearing earlier.
The case stems from an October 2019 incident when the gunshot victim was seen bleeding profusely after suffering from severe gunshot wounds to the face and body in the Eastmond neighborhood of Oakland.
The accused gunman was identified as Fred Andre Bates, now on trial, who accumulated numerous charges, including personally inflicting great bodily injury, carjacking, assault with a firearm, second degree robbery, and more.
Though it is unclear how the situation unraveled or what the relationship was between the defendant and the victim, witnesses shared their testimonies in Alameda County Superior Court, Dept. 06.
Witnesses were able to testify in descriptive detail about the injuries the victim had suffered from—including the first witness, identified as a licensed doctor, with a specific profession in assessing gunshot wounds. The doctor shared that the victim experienced traumatic injuries to the eye, shoulder, and abdomen.
“The CT scan shows post-traumatic hemorrhage. As well as intra-abdominal hemorrhage and fractured fragments,” the doctor said, adding that it was apparent the victim encountered a rupture blow to the body, causing severe blood loss.
The doctor added that the medical results indicated that the protective layer of the victim’s eye had fractured due to the jarring impact of the bullet, noting, “A ruptured lobe is a sphere, and if it has some sort of blunt trauma…its contents inside the eye will be painful.
“In the operating room we were able to repair the injured cornea, along with the rupture of the eyeball,” the doctor said, noting the victim is still recovering from the incident. The testimony indicated the wound to the eye was so damaging that the victim’s vision could not be fully restored.
A technician affiliated with the Berkeley Police Department said, when arriving at the scene it was easy to recognize the victim, who “was covering (their) face and was being treated by police officers,” the tech said.
The witness captured a photographic image of the victim’s injuries, mentioning that they had been bleeding from their face, shoulder, and other parts of the body.
When asked if there were any visible bullets on site, the witnesses testified that there was no evidence on the floor or around the scene of the crime.
However, they did state that there was a white vehicle that had blood smeared on the front of the door entrance. There was no other DNA to be found that could have been linked to the accused.
But, after searching the vehicle, the technician determined that the offender was Fred Andre Bates from discovered fingerprints.
The jury trial proceeded through last week.