18-year-old makes 1st court appearance after Castlemont High teacher killed in Oakland chase
18-year-old makes 1st court appearance after Castlemont High teacher killed in Oakland chase
The 18-year-old charged with the death of a Castlemont High School teacher during a pursuit through Oakland streets made his first court appearance on Friday in Alameda County Superior Court. Eric Scott Hernandez-Garcia did not enter a plea to felony charges of vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run and evading police.
OAKLAND, Calif. - The 18-year-old charged with the death of a Castlemont High School teacher during a pursuit through Oakland streets made his first court appearance on Friday in Alameda County Superior Court.
Eric Scott Hernandez-Garcia did not enter a plea to felony charges of vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run and evading police.
His case was continued until Monday. He is being held in Santa Rita Jail with no bail.
Wearing green jail scrubs, the young man stood behind a glass window before Judge Elena Condes, asking that he be allowed to find his own attorney instead of using a public defender.
Felony charges
The Alameda County District Attorney charged Hernandez-Garcia with seven felonies stemming from what happened on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. at East 21st Street and Park Boulevard, where he is accused of losing control of his car, driving "recklessly" and striking parked cars and a fire hydrant, which ended up hitting and killing Marvin Boomer, a Castlemont High School math teacher.
Boomer had been walking on the sidewalk with his girlfriend, who was injured, as well as another woman in a separate crash scene five blocks away.
Castlemont High School held a graduation on Friday, at about the same time that Hernandez-Garcia was arraigned.
"We have lost a beloved member of our community, leaving us in a state of shock", DA Ursula Jones Dickson said in a statement. "Mr. Hernandez-Garcia’s callous disregard for the safety of our community has resulted in the tragic death of Marvin Boomer, a teacher and member of the Castlemont High school family."
Eric Hernandez-Garcia, 18, did not enter a plea after being charged with felony vehicular manslaughter in the death of the Castlemont math teacher. May 30, 2025.
CHP log of events
Fifteen minutes before Boomer was killed, CHP officers said they had tried to stop Hernandez-Garcia after they saw the Infiniti he was driving, which was wanted in connection with a felony evading charge from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.
Officers tried to stop Hernandez-Garcia in a parking lot near the intersection of 102nd Avenue and International Boulevard, but Hernandez-Garcia took off, according to the CHP.
Officers "discontinued their pursuit" 37 seconds later and a CHP airplane monitored the pursuit from the air, the CHP said.
After driving along a freeway and city streets for 15 minutes, Hernandez-Garcia pulled his car to the curb at 1844 5th Street in Oakland and began to get out of the car.
A CHP plane was above and told ground units where he was, the CHP said.
As CHP officers on the ground got closer, Hernandez-Garcia got back into his car and fled, and CHP officers "reinitated pursuit," the agency said.
Within 30 seconds, Hernandez-Garcia had ended up crashing into a minivan at the intersection of Park Boulevard and 21st Street, the CHP said. Officers "discontinued their pursuit for a second time" and the people inside the minivan were transported from the scene with minor injuries, the CHP said.
Witness William Duarte told KTVU that one of the people in the car was his wife, and she suffered injuries to her leg and neck, and she told him that she heard sirens at the time, indicating the pursuit was active. He said he was frustrated his wife was hurt and that an innocent person had died.
Hernandez-Garcia ran away, police said, but officers were able to arrest him.
Controversial police chases
The issue of police chases is a controversial one.
Many in law enforcement say that they need the tools to pursue criminals and if they don't chase suspects, then crime will continue to get out of hand.
Others point to tragic deaths and injuries – especially of innocent bystanders – like what happened in this case.
"Was it worth it to catch that car thief? I don't think so. I think that's just horrible," said Michael Eastwood, who lives at the corner where the man died.
The California Highway Patrol has looser rules on chasing suspects than Oakland police do.
Recently, the Oakland police chief asked the police commission to loosen one particular aspect of city chase rules, where an officer would no longer have to request permission from a supervisor to drive faster than 50 mph.
Earlier this month, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Oakland police can be held responsible when bystanders are injured, or killed, during reckless pursuits.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the Infiniti was stolen. Sheriff's records show the Infiniti was wanted on May 5 for "reckless driving" but it was unclear who was driving the car at that time.
