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Cedric Irving Jr., the person accused of killing beloved football coach John Beam at Laney College in Oakland last week, will be held without bail, an Alameda County judge ruled Tuesday morning.

Alameda County DA Ursula Jones Dickson announced Monday that her office charged Irving with murder and an enhancement for the use of a firearm. If convicted, Irving could face fifty years to life in prison.

Questions about Irving’s mental health were raised Monday after the East Bay Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and other media reported that Irving told police he suspected Beam of performing “witchcraft” on him.

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Roughly 25 of Beam’s loved ones and former athletes, including NFL running back and Oakland Technical High School alum Marshawn Lynch, filled the seats in the downtown Oakland courtroom where Irving’s arraignment was held.

Appearing from behind a protective glass case wearing a padded vest, Irving had a blank expression as Judge Michael Risher ruled that he be held at Santa Rita Jail without bail. No plea was entered. Irving’s next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 16.

Irving does not have any prior criminal convictions, according to the DA.

Before Irving’s arraignment, his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Sydney Levin, objected to media photographing Irving, citing concerns of bias and “untimely” requests to use cameras in the court. Risher denied Levin’s appeal, citing public interest and press protections under the First Amendment.

According to the Oakland Police Department, just before noon on Nov. 13, a man shot Beam at the Laney College field house and fled the scene, launching a manhunt that lasted through the day. Police say they used surveillance footage from the shooting, which they called a “targeted incident,” to identify Irving, 27, of Oakland, as the suspect.

Around 4 a.m. the following day, officers found and arrested Irving at the San Leandro BART station and drove him to OPD headquarters to be interviewed, according to OPD.

OPD Officer Kevin Godchaux wrote in a probable cause statement that a handgun was recovered from one of Irving’s bags. Godchaux said that during the interview, Irving “admitted” that the gun belonged to him and that he had used the weapon to shoot Beam.

Irving was booked into Santa Rita Jail later that afternoon.

That same day, Beam was pronounced dead.

Beam, who starred in the Netflix show “Last Chance U,” was a longtime football coach at Skyline High School and, most recently, the athletic director at Laney College. After news reports identified Beam as the shooting victim, community members and Beam’s former athletes flooded social media with heartfelt messages.

Journalists at the Peralta Citizen, the Peralta Community College District’s student-run publication, reported that one day before the shooting, Beam had voiced concerns about campus security at a public safety meeting. Two days before the shooting, the campus conducted an active shooter training.

The shooting came a day after Skyline High School went on lockdown for an on-campus shooting that wounded one teenager. According to OPD, police arrested two minors in connection with the shooting and recovered two guns.

Students and staff from Skyline and other Oakland Unified School District high schools had been on a college and career exploration field trip on Laney College’s campus at the time of Beam’s shooting, according to an email sent to OUSD parents and community members.

“I’m just absolutely sick to my stomach about the amount of gun violence in our community, specifically in Oakland,” said Jones Dickson during Monday’s press conference.

Describing the DA’s office as a “reactive” agency, Jones Dickson told reporters that in response to the two school shootings, she is reinstituting a policy to seek mandatory minimum sentences for people convicted of gun-related crimes.

Jones Dickson declined to answer questions about whether Irving was suffering from mental health issues.

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