A still from a police car dashcam video on Nov. 3, 2018, at about the time Contra Costa County Sheriff's Deputy Andrew Hall began firing through the front windshield of a slow-moving vehicle, fatally striking Laudemer Arboleda. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told KQED Hall completed his sentence after earning credits while incarcerated. (Courtesy of Contra Costa County Sheriff's Officer)
A former Contra Costa County Sheriff’s deputy, sentenced to six years in prison for a fatal shooting in 2018, was released this week after serving less than half of his term.
Andrew Hall was convicted of assault in 2022 for fatally shooting Laudemer Arboleda, an unarmed man who suffered from paranoia and mental health issues. Community activists and Arboleda’s family rallied outside the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office in Martinez Friday to protest Hall’s early release.
Jennifer Leong, Arboleda’s sister, said she was the only person in her family to be notified of Hall’s early parole. A spokesperson for the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office told KQED that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed Hall was already released, which Leong said she was not aware of.
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The original notice sent to Leong by CDCR’s Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services, which KQED reviewed, did not provide a reason for Hall’s release. CDCR said Hall completed his sentence after earning credits while incarcerated, which are awarded for good behavior and participation in rehabilitative programs.
“The fact that [Hall] is being released early is already really harmful to our community,” said Bella Quinto Collins, the sister of Angelo Quinto, a Navy veteran who was killed by Antioch police officers in 2020. “The fact that he is being released secretly, that he’s been released this morning — that is a huge tell that we cannot trust the system that we currently have in place.”
Jessica Leong, whose brother, Laudemer Arboleda, was shot and killed by a police officer in Danville on Nov. 3, speaks at a press conference announcing a legal claim filed against the city on Nov. 19. (Alex Emslie/KQED)
On Nov. 3, 2018, police officers received a report of a suspicious person knocking on doors in Danville.
When law enforcement arrived, Arboleda led them on a nine-minute car chase toward the downtown area. Video taken of the pursuit shows Arboleda pulling over several times before driving off when officers exited their patrol vehicles.
Hall arrived on the scene and tried to block Arboleda’s car at an intersection of Front and Diablo streets. Police video showed Hall get out of his car and step into the path of Arboleda’s vehicle, firing into the windshield and window.
Arboleda, 33, was shot nine times and pronounced dead at the scene.
Charges for Arboleda’s death were filed against Hall in April 2021, a month after he fatally shot Tyrell Wilson, a 32-year-old unhoused man whose family said was also suffering from depression. No charges were brought against Hall for Wilson’s death.
Hall, who also served as a Danville police officer, was the first officer amid a wave of recent police prosecutions in the Bay Area to be found guilty and sentenced. Six years was one of the longest sentences a California officer has received for an on-duty shooting.
Hall was originally charged with assault with a deadly weapon and voluntary manslaughter in Arboleda’s death, but a jury deadlock on the second charge led to its dismissal. Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Terri Mockler sentenced Hall to three years for assault and an additional three years for causing great bodily injury.
Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston said his office welcomes Hall’s release and that he “never should have been in prison in the first place.” Livingston said Hall made a split-second decision to protect himself and others when he used deadly force on Arboleda.
“It’s time we stop feeling sympathy for dangerous criminals and start supporting law-abiding Contra Costa residents and the warriors that defend them,” Livingston, who publicly supported Hall and criticized Mockler, said in a statement to KQED.
Because Hall was convicted of a felony crime, he was supposed to serve 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole. He challenged the conviction, but a three-judge panel rejected his appeal last year.
“Hall’s release is very disappointing and re-traumatizing,” Leong said in a statement. “We are still grieving and when we found out that he was being released early we were completely devastated. These are lives we’re talking about.”
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