DUBLIN — An Oakland man was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a man outside a San Leandro bar, following a one-sided fight inside, court records show.
Louis Ray Woods III, 36, was sentenced by Judge Amy Sekany to 19 years to life for a second degree murder conviction with a gun enhancement. Woods argued at his November 2024 trial he killed Brian Antonio Marquis Moore in self-defense based on the perception of looming danger, but jurors didn’t buy it.
Before he was sentenced in late January, Woods heard from family members of the man he murdered. Moore’s mother, Barbara Smith, recounted how she had to watch in silence as her son’s conduct was picked apart during trial. She described him as a “selfless” and loving man.
“I sat in this courtroom, and I listened to testimony after testimony that reduced my son’s life to one drunk night in a bar,” Smith said. “No one knew of the 35 years on this earth that he was a great son, a great brother, an excellent father.”
Moore’s sister, Leshunay Daniels, said in court that “I never imagined the most liveliest person I knew would be gone.”
“My brother would have wanted nothing more than to see everyone return home to their respective families that night,” Daniels said. “Because that’s who he was. He was more. He was love and joy personified.”
Several other family members spoke on Moore’s behalf, some memorializing him, others condemning the shooting and the “sucker punch” in the bar that led up to it, according to a transcript of the hearing.
Woods was transferred to state prison in March. He’s currently at a healthcare prison in Stockton, records show.
Moore was shot and killed on March 25, 2022, outside of Cunha’s Cocktail Lounge in San Leandro. A few minutes before the murder, Woods’ father knocked him down during a brief fight inside the bar. A bouncer testified that he regretted letting Moore — who allegedly was drunk and stripped off his clothing — back inside the bar because it ultimately led to his death.
The defense argued that Woods sensed he was being set up and believed he was about to be ambushed and shot outside the bar. Prosecutors said that it should have been obvious Moore was unarmed, and that it was rich to suggest that Moore — who was first beat up, then gunned down — was a perpetrator, not the victim.
Woods was identified as the shooter and arrested. Prosecutors also charged Jennifer Glaze with accessory for allegedly helping Moore lay low after the shooting. But that charge was dropped last Dec. 6, about a week after Woods was convicted of murder, court records show.
At sentencing, Woods’ attorney reiterated that Woods sincerely believed the block was about to erupt in gunfire and said his client has almost no criminal history, save for a years-old misdemeanor conviction.
“This case sadly took place in an environment where my client had no intent, no plan to do harm to anyone. He merely was with his father at a bar,” defense lawyer Darryl Stallworth said. “When made aware that his father had been in a fight, he tried to get his father out of there based on the phone call and the information he received about danger.”
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