OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A 27-year-old man was charged Monday with murder in the shooting death of celebrated former football coach John Beam, who died Friday after being shot on the junior college campus in Oakland where he worked.
Cedric Irving also faces enhancement charges alleging he personally fired a gun that caused great bodily injury and that the victim was particularly vulnerable, possibly due to age, according to the charging complaint.
The
mandatory minimum for first degree murder is 25 years to life. Conviction on a charge that he personally discharged the firearm resulting in death also carries a sentence of 25 years to life.
Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson is set to speak Monday afternoon on the charges. Irving, who is being held without bail, is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. The Alameda County Public Defender’s Office said it has not been appointed to represent Irving and declined comment.
Beam was a giant in the local community, a father figure who forged deep relationships with his players while fielding a team that regularly competed for championships. The Netflix docuseries “Last Chance U” focused on Beam and the Laney Eagles in its 2020 season. He'd most recently been serving as the school's athletic director after retiring from coaching last year.
Officers arrived at Laney College before noon Thursday to find Beam, 66, wounded at the athletics field house. He was treated at a hospital, but died the following day from his injuries.
Irving was arrested at a commuter rail station just after 3 a.m. Friday. He was carrying the firearm used to shoot Beam, and he admitted to carrying out the shooting, according to the probable cause document.
Oakland Assistant Chief James Beere said the suspect went on campus for a “specific reason” but did not elaborate. “This was a very targeted incident,” he said at a Friday news conference.
Beere did not say how the two men knew each other but said the Irving was known to hang around the Laney campus. Irving's brother told the San Francisco Chronicle that Irving had lost his job as a security guard after an altercation and was facing eviction at home.
Beam joined Laney College in 2004 as a running backs coach and became head coach in 2012, winning two league titles. According to his biography on the college’s website, at least 20 of his players went on to the NFL.
His shooting came a day after a student was shot at Oakland’s Skyline High School. The student is in stable condition. Beam had previously worked at Skyline High School, and the suspect in that shooting had played football there after Beam had already left for another job.
