(KRON) — Two of the suspects connected to the 2021 fatal freeway shooting of a toddler on the I-880 will be charged with murder and special gang enhancements, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday. Ivory Bivens, 24, and Trevor Green, 22, will be charged with murder, according to court documents filed on Tuesday.
“The sentences that potentially both of them face arise because of their membership in a gang. That’s what makes it special,” explained Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price to KRON4. “There is a special enhancement when you are a member of a gang and you’re using a gun to commit a crime.”
Twenty-three month old Jasper Wu was riding in a car with his family on the 880 in Oakland on Nov. 6, 2021 when he was struck by a stray bullet and killed. Bivens and Green are accused of attempting to ambush another vehicle while armed with an AR-15-style rifle, the DA said.
Evidence cited by the DA indicates that the two followed another car in which Johnny Jackson was riding onto the 880 and while trying to kill Jackson and the driver of that car, shot and killed Jasper Wu.
“Contrary to the way that this case was initially portrayed in the media, this was not a rolling gun battle on highway 880,” DA Price said. “The court looked at the evidence and determined that Mr. Jackson, the third defendant, was actually one of the intended targets of the two men who are charged for the murder of Jasper Wu.”
Price says if found guilty, Bivens and Green will face lifetime sentences for the Nov. 6, 2021, murder of the 23-month-old.
“The charges are very serious. They’ve always been very serious,” Price said. “One young man is facing 265 years to life exposure if he’s convicted of all of the charges, and the other is facing 175 years to life if he’s convicted.”
Jackson was charged with felony possession of a firearm after a preliminary hearing last month ruled he was the victim of an ambush. Murder charges for Bivens and Green have been upheld.
However, special circumstances regarding the possibility of parole have been removed. Price explained the reasoning behind this.
“That charge has been deemed to be riddled with racism and applied in an extremely unfair way. It essentially undermines what we now know as brain science,” Price said. “That young people, generally, their brains are not fully developed. They don’t make great decisions until sometime around the age of 25 or 26. In this case both of these defendants are under the age of 25.”
“We will continue to hold these men accountable for these serious charges that will likely land them behind bars for the rest of their lives,” said Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.
Carl Chan, a spokesperson for the Wu family, also weighed in on the charges announced by the DA’s office.
“For this family, they are seeing these so-called charges, but I think it is important for this family making sure that not only their family be able to be seeking justice but also see other families be able to seek the same justice as well,” Chan said.
Bivens faces the possibility of 265 years to life in prison, if convicted. Green faces 175 years to life. Jackson is facing a three-year sentence.
