Marquise Johnson-Simon, 23, of Oakland, was released after a judge reduced his charge from murder to accessory after the fact.
OAKLAND — In a striking reversal of a previous judge’s ruling, a Bay Area man has been freed from jail after his charges were reduced from murder to accessory after the fact in the stabbing of a man whose body was discovered in the Oakland hills.
Johnson-Simon was charged along with co-defendant Elijah Jordan-Brooks, 22, of Pittsburg, of murdering Stanifer after a party on July 5, 2020. Police say Stanifer was stabbed to death and his body was dumped down a ravine at the Huckleberry Preserve in the Oakland hills, where it wasn’t discovered until nearly two weeks later. Both suspects were arrested in May 2021.
“This young man should have been behind bars from the onset, but he was allowed to walk around free for two years , while my son, Donald Stanifer, had to be eulogized!” Adams wrote. “His bail should be revoked as far as the evidence is concerned.” “The Magistrate’s ruling would justify a murder charge against anyone who comes in contact with a crime scene,” the attorney, Joseph Patrick McPeak, wrote in the motion. He later argued that one could conclude Johnson-Simon was simply a passenger in Jordan-Brooks’ car when the body was dumped, not someone who attempted to dispose of evidence.
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