She tried to keep her second boyfriend a secret. The truth led to Richmond homicide, police say

RICHMOND — The 35-year-old woman had told her boyfriend that the man who seemed to be constantly hanging around was just a friend, that he was gay, and later even feigned drunkenness or disorientation when pressed for further answers, according to police.

But it was just a matter of time before 64-year-old Melvin Murphy figured out he wasn’t the only man in her life. The day he put the pieces together would also be when the woman’s second boyfriend, 31-year-old Jabari Fontenot, allegedly shot and killed Murphy outside her home on Nevin Avenue, authorities said.

Now Fontenot is in jail facing charges of murder with a gun enhancement, awaiting a preliminary hearing. He was supposed to go before a judge in late July but the hearing was postponed until at least late August, records show.

Police credited the privately contracted license plate reader system set up all over town with helping solve the homicide — and the company, Flock, now uses the department’s shout out in its marketing. But court records describe a police investigation that also relied on witness interviews and a meticulous picking apart of the 35-year-old woman’s story, which initially made no mention of the love triangle or the fact that she apparently witnessed Murphy’s homicide after inviting both men to her home at the same time.

When police initially interviewed the woman, she described herself as Murphy’s on-again, off-again girlfriend for the past four years. She denied knowing who the killer was, but there were a few things about her story and mannerisms that made authorities suspicious. Among them was that during her initial interview, a convicted killer, called the woman at least 15 times from a California State Prison, and she said the man — an ex-boyfriend — wouldn’t stop until she spoke with him, according to court records.

Eventually, police say they learned from the woman that she was two-timing Murphy, a maintenance technician at a local apartment complex. She had also been romantically involved with Fontenot, a man she knew as “Chop” and described as her “safe space,” according to court records. Murphy was well-aware of Fontenot’s presence in his girlfriend’s life; he would stop by with food or groceries while they were together, authorities said, but she would always deflect Murphy’s suspicions, even lying to him about Fontenot’s sexual orientation, she allegedly told authorities.

On May 29, she invited both men to her home, but didn’t think it would lead to a conflict, she said. Around 6:30 p.m., though, a person called 911 to report a shooting on the woman’s front lawn. The two men were seeing arguing before Fontenot allegedly pulled a pistol and shot Murphy.

But the woman refused to implicate Fontenot in the killing, insisting she didn’t see what had happened. After the woman’s interview, police reviewed her prison phone calls with the woman’s ex-boyfriend, according to court records.

The ex, identified by authorities as Davante Robinson, is serving a prison term for the killing of 18-year-old San Leandro resident Kenyatta Butler Jr., who was fatally shot in San Francisco in 2015, according to court records. One call between them occurred almost immediately after the homicide, and was recorded by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, authorities said.

“Jabari shot Melvin,” she allegedly told Robinson, who attempted to clam her nerves, authorities said. The woman confirmed they were fighting over her and said, “I was trying to break them up.”

Later in the conversation, Robinson allegedly told the woman to “delete the camera” and deny having seen anything. The two continued to speak about the homicide in hushed tones, authorities said.

Police used license plate readers to track Fontenot to Concord, and arrested him the morning after the shooting. They say he offered a brief statement before requesting a lawyer.

“It was a stupid little fight,” Fontenot allegedly said. He has pleaded not guilty.