A parked Tesla quietly recording on a city street is now at the heart of a murder prosecution in Oakland, after an Alameda County judge yesterday moved the case closer to trial based in part on video captured by the car’s cameras.
Prosecutors told the court that motion-activated footage from the Tesla helped investigators identify a getaway vehicle, a Chevy Malibu that was seen arriving at and leaving an encampment where 23-year-old Jerome Hunter was shot. Investigators say they matched what the Tesla recorded with automated license-plate reader data, which they used to trace the Malibu and zero in on potential suspects. The judge’s ruling pushes the case into a pretrial phase that will spotlight witness testimony and the growing role of privately owned video in criminal prosecutions.
According to The Mercury News, Alameda County court records and police testimony show that 33-year-old Evan Greene has been ordered to stand trial on murder charges tied to the Jan. 14, 2025 killing on 23rd Avenue near East 12th Street in Oakland. Prosecutors told the court the Tesla’s cameras recorded suspects coming and going in the Chevy Malibu, and investigators compared those clips with automated license-plate reader hits to track down people of interest. Officials also say a woman who fled the scene in a stolen Acura has agreed to testify…