Hearing for accused muralist killer postponed for medical reasons

OAKLAND, Calif. (BCN) - A court appearance for a reputed gang associate charged with murder for allegedly killing a mural artist in Oakland in September was postponed Tuesday for medical reasons for the second straight day.

Marquise Holloway, 20, is charged with murder and the special circumstance of committing a robbery during a murder for allegedly fatally shooting 27-year-old Antonio Ramos of Emeryville in the 3500 block of West Street in Oakland at about 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 29.

Ramos was shot while he was working on a mural underneath an Interstate Highway 580 overpass that's part of the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project, a collaboration between artists and local students.

Holloway is also charged with three counts of second-degree robbery and two counts of attempted second-degree robbery for incidents on Sept. 29, the same day that Ramos was killed, and between Oct. 1 and Oct. 5.

Holloway shouted expletives and banged his head against a glass barrier when he was arraigned in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland last week and bailiffs dragged him away before Judge Gregory Syren could finish reading all the charges against him.

Holloway was scheduled to return to court on Monday morning to be assigned an attorney and enter a plea but his hearing was postponed until Tuesday morning, when it was postponed a second time.

Alameda County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said Holloway's court appearance was postponed for medical reasons, but said he couldn't elaborate because of privacy laws.

Holloway, who is being held at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin without bail, is now scheduled to return to court on Thursday morning.

Holloway has a prior conviction for second-degree robbery in August 2012.

After Holloway was arrested last week, Oakland police Lt. Roland Holmgren said Holloway is associated with a West Oakland gang called Ghost Town.

Oakland police said last week that they believe the gun used in the killing of Ramos was stolen earlier in September from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in San Francisco.

A separate suspect, 25-year-old Sean Gibson, has been charged with felony auto burglary for the case and also faces 36 other counts. He made an appearance in San Francisco Superior Court today and will return to court again on Dec. 18 for a pre-hearing conference.

Oakland police have not said how they believe Holloway ended up with the gun.