The Neighbors\u2019 History<\/p>\n
In December 2019, Thomas threw rocks through the windows <\/a>of the Armstead house. Melina \u201csat in her living room holding her child in her arms, a large rock flew through the home\u2019s bay front window, shattering the glass. Glass shards flew everywhere,\u201d per the lawsuit. Melina was injured and had to seek medical attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n The couple called Oakland police and officers told Melina \u201cthere was nothing they could do about the rock throwing incident and considered it a simple incident of \u2018vandalism.\u2019\u201d Thomas broke the family\u2019s windows at least 14 additional times, according to the lawsuit. He was finally arrested on February 26, 2020, for making \u201cterrorist threats\u201d toward Miles Armstead after stating he would burn the Armsteads\u2019 house down, the Alameda County Sheriff\u2019s Office said at the time<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n On February 28, Thomas was released<\/a> on his own recognizance\u2014meaning without <\/a>posting bail and only signing an agreement that he would return to court\u2014despite objections from prosecutors. \u201cThe judge released him over our strenuous objections,\u201d Teresa Drenick of the Alameda County district attorney\u2019s office said. Officer Alejandro Padilla later called Thomas <\/a>a \u201cchronic nuisance in his neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n After one arrest, Thomas told police he would \u201cbe right back\u201d and would \u201ckill him next time,\u201d according to court documents reviewed by The Mercury News.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Then, on April 6, Thomas threw a brick at Armstead, just missing him. Oakland police issued an arrest warrant, but Thomas was not taken into custody until after he killed Armstead, nearly a month later.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear why Thomas, who was convicted of a drunk driving charge in 2012 and unlawfully taking a vehicle in 1995, targeted Armstead and his family. Neighbor Louella Robinson told The San Francisco Chronicle<\/a> the neighbors had \u201ca little thing going between them.\u201d \u201cWe don\u2019t know what it was. Some kind of way I guess they fell out,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n \u201c[Thomas] was a good kid, coming up and everything\u2014that\u2019s why everybody\u2019s kind of in a state of shock,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cWe [are] still kind of wondering what happened between them two.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lawsuit\u2019s Outcome<\/p>\n The city of Oakland asked the U.S. District Judge Laurel Beeler to dismiss Melina\u2019s lawsuit, with attorneys arguing the city has no duty to protect individuals from third parties. Beeler dismissed some claims but rejected the city\u2019s argument that it was immune from all liability. The judge concluded the city could be deemed negligent under a \u201cstate-created danger\u201d doctrine.<\/p>\n In her decision, the judge cited times<\/a> in which police officers at the Armsteads\u2019 home allowed Thomas to hear them say that the department was understaffed, officers were overworked and that the family\u2019s calls were not high priorities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe officers here allegedly emboldened Mr. Thomas by saying within earshot of him that they would do nothing,\u201d Beeler wrote, adding that the police officers\u2019 actions \u201cincreased the risk of harm.\u201d<\/p>\n In the same filing, Beeler said the lawsuit failed to identify a policy or practice that caused the due-process violation and led to state-created danger, which is a prerequisite for advancing a civil rights claim against a government entity.<\/p>\n Armstead\u2019s family was awarded $2.4 million in an October 2023 settlement. Civil rights attorney Adante Pointer told KTVU<\/a> that the Oakland will pay $450,000 and Alameda County will pay $1.95 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jamal Thomas Today<\/p>\n Thomas was convicted in July 2024 of first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon with priors. The conviction also included a gun enhancement. A judge sentenced Thomas<\/a> in April 2025 to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 28 years and eight months.<\/p>\n Melina said at the sentencing hearing that she found the parole option to be \u201cbeyond frustrating.\u201d It feels very unfair,\u201d she said<\/a>. \u201cIt just shows how the law that\u2019s meant to protect can deteriorate when politics get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n Thomas is incarcerated at High Desert State Prison, approximately 200 miles northeast of Sacramento and a 90-minute drive from Reno, Nevada.\u00a0<\/p>\n High Desert State Prison has been open since 1995<\/a> and is a maximum-security prison designed to house people who have behavioral and management problems. The prison offers vocational programs, educational programs and work assignments for those inmates who want to participate<\/a>, though it\u2019s unknown if Thomas is involved with any programs or jobs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Neighbors\u2019 History In December 2019, Thomas threw rocks through the windows of the Armstead house. 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