DA drops two felony charges against man who beat Oakland murder charge

OAKLAND — Months after prosecutors threw out a homicide case that had been investigated by a detective who now faces perjury charges, the defendant has scored two more legal victories.

After his murder case was thrown out last December, 41-year-old Leonard Jones was still facing charges of smuggling drugs into prison and possessing a weapon. But in a court hearing in May, Alameda County prosecutors threw out both cases, court records show.

Despite the victories, Jones remains behind bars, where he continues to serve 59 years in prison in connection with a shooting. He is seeking to be re-sentenced to a lesser term and remains in the Santa Rita Jail, with a court date set for Aug. 9, records show.

The cases were thrown out after an in-camera hearing in which the public was barred and only Jones’ attorney, the prosecutor and a judge were present, according to records from both cases.

Jones had been charged in connection with the April 2013 shooting death of Donitra Henderson. In December 2023, prosecutors dropped the case “in the interest of justice,” according to a minute order from the hearing. The homicide had been investigated by Oakland Police Det. Phong Tran, who has since been charged with perjury and bribing witnesses to influence their testimony in murder cases.

Jones’ two remaining cases involved allegedly possessing a homemade knife at the Santa Rita prison, where he shared a cell with another man, and with a conspiracy to smuggle drugs into the prison. In the drug case, he allegedly recruited one Antioch woman who worked as a technicianand who was sentenced to four days in jail after pleading no contest, records show.