The criminal case against the 27-year-old man accused of killing John Beam at Laney College is on hold, after a judge found him mentally unfit to stand trial, officials said.
Alameda County Judge Armando Pastran Jr.’s ruling on Friday came during the fourth mental evaluation hearing for Cedric Irving Jr., who is charged with murder after allegedly shooting Beam in the head just before noon on Nov. 13, 2025, in what police described as a targeted attack.Beam, the longtime Laney football coach and athletic director, was shot inside his campus office and transported to Highland Hospital, where he died at 66.
A county coroner’s autopsy report obtained by the Peralta Citizen details that Beam was shot “after a brief altercation,” the student newspaper reported Friday. The autopsy also provided new details that Beam had multiple bruises and contusions, including to his chest, arms, left hand, his forehead, nose and knees.
Three doctors previously found Irving incompetent, and a doctor hired by prosecutors interviewed him last week, according to the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Irving…