The family of Marcel Dupree Jones, an unhoused Black man shot and killed in what authorities have described as a hate crime, has sued the man charged with his murder, along with the nonprofit that runs the Northwest Berkeley homeless shelter where Jones was killed and the city of Berkeley, which funds the nonprofit.
Two of Jones’ preschool-aged children filed a civil complaint through a guardian Nov. 18, accusing the city, shelter and roommate of negligence, civil rights violations and other claims.
Jones, 37, was a week away from graduating a pre-apprenticeship program and headed for a construction career when he was fatally shot on Aug. 25, 2024, at Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency’s (BOSS) Ursula Sherman Village shelter at Harrison and Fourth streets. Berkeley police arrested his then-roommate, 63-year-old Mark Christopher Dowling, the next day…