OAKLAND, Calif. _ A 23-year-old Oakland man pleaded no contest Monday to one count of first degree murder for the killing of a man painting a mural in 2015.
Marquise Holloway shot Antonio Ramos dead on Sept. 29, 2015, beneath an Interstate 580 overpass on West Street in Oakland. Authorities said Holloway attempted to rob the 27-year-old of his camera, which he used to document the progress of the community mural.
The robbery allegation made Holloway eligible for the death penalty. Members of the U.S. Marshals agency arrested Holloway in Stockton about a month after the shooting.
The daytime killing devastated the Oakland art community and the Attitudinal Healing Connection, the nonprofit organization working on a series of murals underneath Interstate 580. In the days after his death, grieving artists finished the mural depicting children from that West Oakland neighborhood, brightly colored Victorian houses and a creek along a tree-lined street.
In 2017, Ramos' family sued the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, claiming the gun Holloway used was stolen from a federal officer's car. The federal lawsuit is still pending.
A judge will sentence Holloway on Oct. 5. He faces 25 years to life in prison.
