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"Nut Cases" Gang Member To Spend Life In Prison

UPDATED: 12:44 pm PDT June 6, 2008

An Oakland man who allegedly killed people to show how tough he was and to revitalize the infamous "Nut Cases" gang was sentenced Friday to 79 years in state prison plus two terms of life in prison without parole.

Deonte "Oink" Donald, 22, was convicted March 27 of four counts of first-degree murder, one count each of kidnapping and making criminal threats and multiple counts of robbery and attempted robbery.

He also was convicted of two special circumstance clauses that resulted in the two life in prison terms when he was sentenced by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Allen Hymer -- committing a murder during a robbery and multiple murder.

The Alameda County jury that deliberated for three-and-a-half days convicted Davis of gunning down 22-year-old Daniel Martinez and 47-year-old Miguel Maciel-Galena near the corner of 68th and Bancroft avenues in Oakland about 8:45 p.m. on Feb. 18, 2003, while the two victims, who were day laborers, took a break from an English class.

Davis, who was accompanied by three other men during his crime spree, was also convicted of attempted robbery and attempted murder for a second incident several hours later at about 12:15 a.m. on Feb. 19, 2003, when he and the other three men attempted to rob Augustine Andrade when Andrade returned to his home on 60th Avenue in Oakland after working at his job as a janitor at the Oakland Coliseum.

Prosecutor Chris Lamiero said Davis picked out Andrade to be a victim, gave one of the other men his gun and said, "This one's on you," meaning that it was his turn to rob someone.

The other man is the person who actually shot Andrade, who survived the incident and testified against Davis.

In addition, Davis was convicted of murder for being the lookout in a third incident at 3:36 a.m. on Feb. 19, 2003, in which 26-year-old Armando Arce was shot to death by another suspect on Willow Alley near Polk Street in San Francisco.

The gang members called themselves the "Nut Cases" because authorities said they engaged in their crime spree mainly for thrills. Some members of the group sported tattoos of the Planters "Mr. Peanut" logo.

Donald's sentencing means that six of the eight Nut Cases defendants charged in 2003 have had their cases resolved. Most of the defendants have been sentenced to life terms.

On Thursday, 30 year-old Aminah "Nay-Nay" Dorsey-Colbert pleaded no contest to second-degree murder for the execution-style slaying of her former lover, 36-year-old Joseph Mabrey, in the 3200 block of Storer Avenue in the Oakland hills on Oct. 24, 2002.

According to prosecutor Michael Nieto, Colbert's husband, Gregory Colbert Jr., ordered the hit after he learned that Mabrey was having an affair with his wife while he was in prison.

The shooting was carried out by another Nut Cases member, DeMarcus Ralls, 24, who's serving a life term for participating in five murders, but Dorsey-Colbert was charged because she helped set up the incident.

Dorsey-Colbert is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 22 and is expected to receive a term of 15 years to life in state prison.

Jury selection for the last remaining defendant, Leon "Twan" Wiley, 29, is scheduled to begin Monday. He's charged with three counts of murder.

Prosecutors believe that Gregory Colbert Jr., 28, was the leader of the Nut Cases gang but he wasn't charged with the other defendants in the case and he was charged separately.

On March 23, 2007, Colbert was sentenced to 75 years to life in state prison for murdering another member of the gang, 20-year-old Glen Phason, in June 2004.

In a May 2 interview with a probation officer, Donald said he realizes that he was "a follower" during the Nut Cases crime spree and he doesn't want to associate with fellow gang members while he's in prison.

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