A former Alameda Circle K clerk has agreed to a plea deal for shooting a man in the head for trying to grab a pack of cigarettes at the Webster Street store on July 11, 2020, according to a report in the East Bay Times. Wenyong Huang, 31, pleaded no-contest to voluntary manslaughter and a 12-year prison term in exchange for prosecutors dropping the murder charge.
Huang, who has already served almost five years in jail, is scheduled to be sentenced in May. His attorney, Annie Beles, said he had always admitted to the shooting, according to the report. She said that “mass confusion and mass miscommunications during a very chaotic tỉme within the District Attorney’s office” prevented Huang from taking responsibility, according to the Times report.
Shortly after the shooting, Alameda Police Lieutenant Ryan DeRespini told KTVU News that Ethan Escorcio, 24, went behind the counter and started to remove a pack of cigarettes, and Huang, who reportedly recognized the man as a repeat shoplifter, pulled out a semiautomatic pistol and shot Escorcio in the head.
Huang then called 911, saying he had shot a robbery suspect, but after talking to witnesses and reviewing surveillance video, police said there was no holdup and that the clerk had crossed the line by shooting him, according to the KTVU report.
“It was determined that a robbery had not occurred and that that level of self-defense was not justified or appropriate for the crime that was actually occurring,” DeRespini told KTVU. “At that point, it appeared to be simply an attempt to steal merchandise … He was accosted by the store clerk and almost immediately shot and killed where he was.”
Authorities said Huang pointed the gun at Escorcio’s neck, then fired after Escorcio stepped toward him. The level of force used by Huang was not justifiable, DeRespini told NBC News. Huang needed to step back and call police rather than intervene and risk getting hurt or possibly face higher criminal liability as in this case, the lieutenant said.
Huang was arrested on suspicion of murder and having a concealed firearm on his person. He did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, DeRespini said. Huang was then taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.
