Prosecutors seek death penalty in killing of Hayward officer

ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. (BCN) - Alameda County prosecutors disclosed today that they are seeking the death penalty for an Oakland man who's scheduled to stand trial later this year on a murder charge with three special circumstances for the fatal shooting of Hayward police Sgt. Scott Lunger three years ago.

The District Attorney's Office made the decision in the case of 24-year-old Mark Estrada shortly after he was ordered to stand trial at the end of his preliminary hearing on May 8, 2017, but that move wasn't made public until a hearing today at which he sought to fire both of his attorneys.

The decision marks only the second time that District Attorney Nancy O'Malley has sought the death penalty since she took the job as the county's top prosecutor in 2009.

The other time was in the case of Darnell Williams, who in 2016 was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and other charges and was sentenced to death for the killings of 8-year-old Alaysha Carradine and 22-year-old Anthony Medearis in separate incidents in 2013.