By Jake Romero
OAKLAND, CA — An Alameda County Superior Court judge denied pretrial release to a Richmond man with a lengthy criminal history at the René C. Davidson Courthouse/Alameda County Superior Court Wednesday.
The accused, Terrell Franklin, is charged with battery, bodily injury to a relationship partner and dissuading a witness by force or threat.
Judge Morris Jacobson said releasing Franklin pending trial would compromise the safety of the victim—his former girlfriend—and that there is a substantial likelihood that Franklin would carry out previously made violent threats against her, given the man’s criminal record.
The victim testified to more than 100 incidents of domestic violence—including choking and attempted murder—in the past 13 years, according to the court’s review at the preliminary hearing.
“There are no less restrictive alternatives that would protect her because he’s unwilling to comply with court orders,” Judge Jacobson said. “He won’t comply with court orders around guns, and I do not have confidence that he would comply with criminal protective orders.”
Franklin, 34, has been arrested for multiple gun-related incidents dating back to 2008. He was arrested that year in connection to an Albany bowling alley shooting, and was charged with attempted murder for unrelated incidents in 2014 and 2020, according to news reports.
Deputy Public Defender Rico Tagliaferri explained that his client’s prior behavior does not absolutely indicate how he would act post-release and argued the court uses statistical probabilities not based on Alameda County’s population.
Deputy District Attorney Nathan Feldman argued against the accused’s release due to both public safety and flight risk, noting the man has arrest warrants in San Francisco County for probation violations.
Judge Jacobson said he did not consider Franklin a flight risk, but he did believe that the use of death threats to dissuade a witness “suggests a significant level of moral turpitude.”
