A retired California cop doing security for a news crew — after being asked to work for “just a few hours” on his day off — was shot dead during a robbery committed by three men who are now headed to prison for decades.
Kevin Nishita, a 56-year-old former Oakland Police officer, was protecting a television news crew when Laron Gilbert, Shadihia Mitchell and Hershel Hale set upon them and shot Nishita in the abdomen during an attempt to steal camera equipment. The November 2021 shooting, which unfolded a day before Thanksgiving, led to murder and other charges for all three men, who were sentenced this week in Alameda County.
Gilbert, who was the gunman, was sentenced to 30 years to life after he pleaded no contest to first-degree murder. Mitchell and Hale each received 25-year sentences after they pleaded no contest to robbery. The men were convicted in February…