Joe Carroll Jr. found guilty of three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder

Dishes

Throughout the hearing, Carroll insisted on his innocence. “I didn't kill your son,” he told one of the mothers. “How can you do this to me?”

On Thursday morning, a jury found Joseph Carroll Jr. guilty of murdering three men and attempting to kill two more in Oakland when he was in his early 20s.

The mothers of murder victims Nehemiah Lewis, 24, and Andrew Henderson Jr., 23, wept quietly as the verdicts were read.

Other family members of the victims held hands and wept quietly during the reading of the verdicts, which lasted almost half an hour.

Carroll maintained his innocence and became emotional early in the hearing.

“I didn't kill your son,” he shouted to Nehemiah Lewis' mother. “How can you do this to me?”

Carroll cried audibly for nearly twenty minutes before leaving the courtroom and collapsing on the floor.

The jury found Carroll guilty of two counts of first-degree murder of Lewis and Henderson and one count of first-degree murder of 18-year-old Nguyen Ngo.

The jury also found him guilty on two counts of attempted murder and not guilty on one count.

Carroll, now 38, began to cry as soon as the first guilty verdict was announced in Nguyen Ngo's case.

He hit the defense table and started crying.

“I did not kill that man,” he said. “I swear to God.”

Carroll didn't seem to believe it and repeatedly turned to his lawyers for support while maintaining his innocence.

Finally, Judge Jason Chin asked Carroll to stop disrupting the proceedings if he did not want to be removed from office.

At one point, Carroll jumped up from his seat and shouted, “I didn’t kill those people.”

“Why do you have to do this shit to my life?” he asked the jury.

“If you want to stay at this hearing, that is your right,” Judge Chin said. “You cannot keep disrupting it.”

During the hearing, more than a dozen officers were in the courtroom to ensure peace and quiet.

At times it was difficult to listen to the verdicts being read because of Carroll's crying.

At first, Carroll's mother, Ladonna Hardman, and another family member were his only supporters in the room. As the hearing progressed, several other supporters joined him.

“It wasn’t me, Mom,” he kept saying.

“I know that,” she said, adding something about how the police had set a trap for him.

At some point she also stood up and spoke directly to the jury.

“You have convicted an innocent man,” she told them. “That is what you have done.”

Then she left the room.

Carroll's defense attorneys declined to comment after the hearing but said they planned to appeal the verdict.

Attorneys are expected to return to court at 1:30 p.m. to discuss next steps in the case.

On Wednesday, The Scanner published a detailed report on the trial, which lasted two months.

The trial offered unprecedented insight into the alleged 20-year history of the Berkeley gang and some of its key players.

Don't miss the full report.

Joe Carroll Jr. murder trial: Evidence is in, jury verdict not yet decided

The trial offered an unprecedented insight into the 20-year history of the alleged Berkeley gang and some of its key players.

The scanner will continue to follow the story.