Two former Allan Hancock College basketball players employed the same methods as they allegedly robbed marijuana dealers in the weeks leading up to another robbery that ended with a Santa Maria man’s death three years ago, a former colleague testified Monday.
Former football player Gentry Oden began testifying Monday afternoon in the trial Lavell White, 25, and Ali Mohammed, 22, both former basketball players, in Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Lompoc.
The pair have been charged with murder, robbery and burglary for several incidents in late 2014, culminating in the fatal shooting of Terence Richardson, 23, of Santa Maria, during a drug deal gone wrong on Dec. 30, 2014, near Bradley Road and Jones Street.
Richardson was a passenger in the vehicle driven by an admitted marijuana dealer who was the trial’s first witness last week.
Oden, who has not been charged, recounted several incidents during which he alleged White and Richardson robbed marijuana dealers using the same modus operandi seen in the incident that ended with Richardson’s death.
The former football player claimed Mohammed, allegedly armed with the handgun used to shoot Richardson, entered the car while White, reportedly carrying the replica AK-47, stood outside the vehicle.
White is accused of being the mastermind behind the crimes while Mohammed allegedly was the shooter.
Oden said he tried to watch the incident from a window and then the apartment patio before moving to the front of the complex in the 700 block of South Bradley Road.
After the shooting, Oden said, he recalled a conversation involving Mohammed.
“He was just saying he had no choice. He had to,” Oden said.
“Who said that?” Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Savrnoch asked.
“Ali,” Oden said, adding that Mohammed still had the gun in his possession.
White told the group “it was time to go,” and they began gathering belongings from an apartment near the shooting scene, and awaited a friend’s arrival to take them to another location.
White reportedly told Oden he needed to change his number since his cellphone had been used to arrange the drug deal.
“Because something bad just happened and the police were going to be looking for us,” Oden said.
A day later, the defendants, Oden and others were at a friend’s residence.
“We was chilling for the most part during the day, and then decided we wanted to go to a party,” he said.
Oden testified about other robberies of pot dealers, where the two defendants stole marijuana, cash and other items, incidents that involved Mohammed getting in the vehicle while White remained outside or searched the trunk.
White advised Mohammed to remove the keys from the vehicles’ ignition to avoid the drug dealer driving away before they could finish the robbery.
The defendants both smoked the stolen weed and sold some to party goers.
After one robbery of a pot dealer, White reportedly called it a good transaction that went well, Oden said, adding that the out-of-state athletes viewed Santa Maria marijuana dealers as “sweet” and “soft.”
“It was easy to take advantage of them,” Oden added.
Earlier, Oden testified about committing multiple residential burglaries with the defendants along with another former football player, Lavelle Griffin.
During one burglary at Montiavo Apartments, the men stole a handgun from the residence of an Air Force officer in addition to computers later pawned.
They committed the robberies to put “money in our pockets,” Oden said, adding that the idea to commit burglaries came from White.
“We just kind of were thinking of ways to make some quick money, to be honest,” he added.
Griffin and Mohammed kicked in the doors while White and Odon typically served as lookouts for residential burglaries.
Victims were chosen by the vehicles they drove, Oden said.
“It just seems like they had money,” he added.
Oden is one of several former community college athletes who told various stories to police following the shooting.
Asked by the prosecuting attorney why he didn’t initially tell the truth, Oden replied, “’cuz I was scared.”
Minutes before the court day ended Monday, defense attorney Michael Scott had started cross examining Oden.
Testimony, including further cross examination of Oden by Scott and defense attorney Lori Pedego, will resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.