BERKELEY — A 52-year-old Richmond man has been charged with murder and other crimes and his wife as an accessory in the March 20 fatal shooting of a man that may have resulted from a road rage incident, according to authorities and court documents.
Hosea Askew was charged with murder in the death of Diante Craig, 29, of Richmond, as well as shooting at an occupied motor vehicle and assault with a semi-automatic firearm. His wife, Mercedes Askew, 62, was charged with being an accessory after the fact.
The shooting was reported at 12:23 p.m. March 20 in the area of Chestnut Street and University Avenue.
According to court documents, police found Craig slumped over in the driver’s seat of an Acura SUV. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect’s vehicle was described as a blue four-door sedan.
Surveillance video from numerous surrounding businesses and residences showed the victim and suspect vehicles traveling west on University and based on the video and witness statements it appeared the shooting resulted from a road rage incident.
Police were later able to determine the suspect vehicle was a Nissan Versa that was a Hertz rental vehicle, according to the documents.
Detectives located the Nissan in San Francisco and learned it had been exchanged for another car after the Berkeley shooting. It had been rented by Mercedes Askew who lived in Richmond, the documents say. A records check showed her husband, Hosea, fit the description of the shooting suspect and he was identified by witnesses in a photo lineup.
Detectives also learned Hosea Askew had a gun registered to him at his Richmond address and detectives also found the newly rented vehicle in front of his home on Marina Lakes Drive in Richmond, the documents say.
A probable cause arrest warrant was issued for Hosea Askew and detectives also got a search warrant for his home.
He and his wife were arrested Saturday at the home where police recovered a 9mm pistol which appeared to have been recently cleaned, the documents say. Police also located evidence showing he had been in Berkeley just prior to the killing.
According to the court documents, when police first got to the Askew home they contacted Mercedes Askew by phone to arrange a surrender. But for 25 minutes she denied her husband was at home, that police had the wrong phone number and said her name was Janet.
She also said her husband had not left their home all day March 20 and was adamant he had been with her all day, the documents say.
She also said the Nissan had never left their secured parking lot until they went to exchange it Friday afternoon at Hertz and when confronted with video surveillance claimed the Nissan must have been stolen and returned the secure parking lot, the documents say. She also spontaneously stated several times the officers were conducting a homicide investigation which had not been disclosed to her by police, the documents say.
She later recanted her story that her husband had been with her all day and that the car must have been stolen, the documents say. The documents also say search warrant evidence recovered from Mercedes Askew’s iPhone showed deleted communication between her and her husband after the homicide.
In an interview with police, Hosea Askew admitted being in Berkeley but denied being on University Avenue until he was confronted with the video evidence. He also denied being being in any altercations or seeing Craig or his vehicle, the documents say. He then invoked his right to an attorney.
The documents also say when Hosea Askew was presented with a search warrant to obtain a DNA sample, he was hesitant and later threatened detectives with a law suit.
Hosea Askew is being held without bail and is scheduled to enter a plea. April 1. It was not immediately known if his wife was still in custody and when she would appear in court.
Staff writer Rick Hurd contributed to this report.