An Oakland murder suspect professed innocence from day one. Now prosecutors say they can't prove guilt

Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News on Aug 18, 2026

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OAKLAND, Calif. — From the day of his arrest on murder charges, Anthony Alonzo maintained that he was being booked for “some s— I didn’t even do,” according to court records.

While perhaps unpolished, Alonzo’s protestations of innocence now appear to have been justified. On Monday, the Alameda County District Attorney’s office moved to dismiss the murder case against him for lack of proof, citing unspecified problems with the evidence that made prosecutors lose faith in the case.

Police said at the time that Alonzo had been caught with the suspected murder weapon. But Pinaki Chakravorty, the defense lawyer who represented Alonzo, said ballistics tests to the firearm were what ended up vindicating his client.

“The physical evidence confirmed what Mr. Alonzo has maintained all along,” Chakravorty said in a statement to this newspaper, “That he did not commit this murder.”

Unfortunately for the 38-year-old Alonzo, he spent almost two years in jail while this determination came to light. He wasn’t charged until two years after the homicide, as police struggled to identify who shot the victim in a crammed Tiny Home community hundreds of people were known to frequent.

The victim, 43-year-old Deandre Irvin, was shot and killed around 3 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2022, on the 300 block of Peralta Street in Oakland. Alonzo was arrested on suspicion of murder two weeks later, but released without charges. Finally, two years after his initial arrest, he was charged with murder and placed on a no-bail hold. He remained behind bars from December 2024 until Monday’s dismissal, records show.

Police said at the time that Alonzo was identified as a suspect based on a “tentative identification” from surveillance footage coupled with Alonzo’s denials that he had shot Irvin, which police found suspicious. He also talked about the shooting with his girlfriend over a jail phone, describing details but stating he hadn’t done it, according to court records.