OAKLAND, CA– A 27-year-old man was charged Monday with murder in the shooting death of famous football coach John Beam, who… He died Friday after being shot On the campus of the junior college in Oakland where he worked.
Cedric Irving also faces enhancement charges alleging that he personally fired a gun causing great bodily injury and that the victim was particularly vulnerable, possibly due to his advanced age, according to the charging complaint.
The mandatory minimum for first-degree murder is 25 years to life. A conviction for self-discharge of a firearm resulting in death is also punishable by 25 years in prison.
Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones-Dixon is scheduled to speak Monday afternoon regarding the charges. Irving, who is being held without bail, is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. The Alameda County Public Defender’s Office said it had not been appointed to represent Irving and declined to comment.
Beam was a giant in the local community, a father figure who forged deep relationships with his players while building a team that regularly competed for championships. The Netflix docuseries “Last Chance U” focused on Beam and the Laney Eagles for its 2020 season. He most recently served as the school’s athletic director after retiring from coaching last year.
Officers He got to Laney College Just before noon on Thursday to find Beam, 66, injured on the track and field field. He was treated in hospital, but died the next day from his wounds.
Irving was arrested at a commuter train station just after 3 a.m. Friday. He was carrying the firearm used to shoot Beam, and admitted to carrying out the shooting, according to the probable cause document.
Oakland Assistant Chief James Bear said the suspect went to the campus for a “specific reason” but did not elaborate. “This was a very targeted incident,” he said at a news conference on Friday.
Perry did not say how the two men knew each other, but he said Irving was known to wander the Laney campus. Irving lost his job as a security guard after an altercation and was facing eviction from the home, Irving’s brother told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Beam joined Laney College in 2004 as running backs coach, became head coach in 2012, and has won two league titles. According to his biography on the college’s website, at least 20 of his players went on to the NFL.
His shooting came a day after a student was shot at Skyline High School in Oakland. The student’s condition is stable. Beam had previously worked at Skyline High School, and the shooting suspect had played football there after Beam had already left for another job.