Font ResizeOAKLAND — A West Oakland liquor store employee accused of burning down the store five days after it was allegedly vandalized by members of Your Black Muslim Bakery will not have to stand trial for the crime, a judge decided.
The Alameda County District Attorney's Office did not provide enough evidence to put Abdul "Tony" Hamdan before a jury and therefore the charge of arson filed against him was dismissed, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Rhonda Burgess ruled.
Hamdan, an employee of the New York Market in the 3400 block of Market Street, told police five days after the store was vandalized in November 2005 that he was kidnapped and the store was lit on fire by members of the bakery. Hamdan said he suspected the bakery members were angry because the store did not close after the vandalism.
Although police found Hamdan locked in the trunk of his own car at a Safeway parking lot in El Cerrito, they never believed his story.
Instead, police suspected Hamdan used the earlier vandalism as a cover to burn down the store. They charged him with arson.
But during a preliminary hearing last week, neither the police department nor the district attorney's office could provide enough evidence to convince the judge that the case should proceed to a jury trial.
H. Ernesto Castillo, an attorney representing Hamdan, said the case against his client was "weak."
"There was just a tremendous amount of holes in their case,"
Castillo said neither his client nor the relative who owned the store gained financially from the fire. He also said that police did not fully investigate his client's complaint that he was kidnapped.
Castillo said his client was never shown photos of suspected bakery members nor was he shown the surveillance video of suspected members of the bakery possibly trashing both the New York Market and San Pablo Liquor.
Deputy district attorney Sharon Carney, who tried the case, declined to comment.
Four members of the bakery are awaiting a jury trial on charges of vandalism in relation to the incidents.
