Man convicted of Oakland murder while on parole for Antioch manslaughter

OAKLAND — A 38-year-old man was convicted of second degree murder for shooting his cousin in 2021, the year after he was paroled from state prison on voluntary manslaughter charges.

Clarence Johnson Jr. was convicted of second degree murder in the Aug. 18, 2021 shooting of 33-year-old Dellmor Brown, who prosecutors say was killed for insulting Johnson’s height and body type. Johnson was arrested at a Greyhound bus station in Tucson, Arizona five days after the murder, en route to the border city of El Paso, Texas, according to court records.

Prosecutors say that Brown and Johnson spent the day together but that there was tension brewing between them. Brown called Johnson short and skinny at one point, and the comment wasn’t well-taken. There was also what Johnson’s attorney described as “horseplay” between them — a shoving match and barbs back and forth, including a remark made by Brown shortly before the shooting that Johnson should just, “do it then,” according to court records.

Brown was on a video call with a woman at around 4:45 a.m., when he was shot. She would later testified that she heard him say, “Oh s—,” and then drop his phone, which she said was picked up by another person. The phone was found about 100 feet down the street from the 2800 block of MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland, where the shooting took place. A gun with Johnson’s DNA on it was also found within a few blocks, according to court records.

Johnson had been paroled on voluntary manslaughter charges in April 2020, after serving about 10 years of a 13-year prison sentence, according to court records. That sentenced stemmed from the 2010 killing of Howard Brooks Jr., 32, in Antioch, over a conflict that started when Johnson asked Brooks for a cigarette at a local Bonfare Market.

“Do it look like I’m in a f—ing mood to give you a cigarette?” Brooks allegedly responded, leading to a conflict between the two. Later in the evening, Brooks allegedly confronted Johnson and his friend near a Mexican restaurant. The friend would later tell police it appeared Brooks was trying to start a fistfight but lifted his shirt at one point, and that Johnson may have been led to believe Brooks was armed.

In a police interview, Johnson denied involvement in anything more than an argument with Brooks and said he didn’t think Brooks had a gun. Later, he confessed to killing him in self-defense, according to court records. The 13-year prison sentence was reached through a plea deal, whereby Contra Costa prosecutors dropped the murder charge in favor of a no contest plea to voluntary manslaughter, records show.

Now that he’s been convicted of second degree murder and gun enhancements, Johnson faces life with no chance of parole for decades. He has not yet been sentenced, and remains jailed without bail. Jurors found him not guilty of first degree murder, records show.