Man convicted of murder in Pleasant Hill shootout, jury hangs on second defendant

MARTINEZ — An alleged Richmond gang member was convicted of murder in connection with a fatal shootout last year where a suspected robber and his victim were both killed.

Money Green, 21, was convicted of second-degree murder. Jurors also acquitted him of conspiracy to commit robbery, but convicted him of a lesser charge of conspiracy to commit theft, authorities said.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on Green’s co-defendant, Joe Washington, who faces attempted robbery and conspiracy charges. Jurors reportedly leaned toward guilt on Washington, but told Judge Joni Hiramoto they would be unable to agree after more than a week of deliberation.

Green now faces a second trial, where jurors will have to determine whether the crimes were committed to benefit the Richmond gang that he, Washington, and a third co-defendant, Amir Shaw, are allegedly a part of. Shaw was arrested earlier this year and is being tried separately.

Prosecutors allege that Washington, Green, Shaw, and a fourth man — 21-year-old Trejon Davis — tailed 63-year-old Peter Popovich, who worked as a delivery driver for a company that provided packaging to cannabis companies.

During the alleged robbery attempt, Popovich killed Davis before he was shot and killed.

The group allegedly followed Popovich to Pleasant Hill after spotting his white unmarked van near a dispensary in Oakland and apparently assumed it had marijuana or cash inside, authorities allege. During trial, the prosecution argued that cellphone records, DNA evidence and admittedly inconsistent witness descriptions established that Popovich killed Davis and was shot by one of the robbers.

Authorities say Washington was the driver and Davis, Shaw, and Green were all armed. Green’s lawyer argued that Davis and Popovich had fatally shot one another and prosecutors failed to prove that Green had participated in a robbery or a murder.

Washington’s lawyer, Anthony Ashe, argued that his client was not in possession of a cellphone that traveled with the group from Richmond, to Oakland, to Pleasant Hill, and back to Richmond, then back to Oakland on the day of the homicide. He said that two “cute” pictures on the phone of Washington — both taken by someone else — weren’t enough to establish that was his phone.

“He was never, ever, ever, ever, ever in that Dodge,” Ashe argued to jurors, referring to a stolen car used by the suspects in the shooting. He said there was no DNA from Washington on the steering wheel nor a marijuana cigarette inside.