PITTSBURG — A 40-year-old Antioch man has been convicted in a June 2007 cold-case deadly capturing of one other man throughout an tried theft and has been sentenced to jail, authorities mentioned.
In an settlement with prosecutors, Desante Blake, a 40-year-old Antioch resident who was arrested in June 2023, pleaded no contest on Sept. 9 and was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, tried theft and firearm enhancements within the loss of life of Larry Abercrombie. Blake was sentenced to 23 years in state jail on Wednesday.
Abercrombie was fatally shot about 10:45 p.m. June 8, 2007 throughout an tried theft in entrance of his house on South Catamaran Circle. He died later at a hospital.
Police mentioned on the time they believed the killing was drug associated and that two suspects have been concerned.
Police mentioned the second suspect nonetheless has not been recognized however that they’re assured Blake was the precise shooter.
In response to police, the case remained unsolved for greater than a decade till final yr, when DNA proof taken off Abercrombie’s clothes led to a match with Blake’s DNA. Blake’s DNA was on file with the Mixed DNA Index System, a nationwide database of DNA profiles that helps legislation enforcement resolve crimes, due to prior arrests, authorities mentioned.
Pittsburg Lt. William Hatcher mentioned after investigators realized of the DNA hyperlink, they started researching Blake’s previous. They discovered that in 2010 a search warrant had been served in an unrelated case on a house the place Blake had been staying: Police recovered a handgun journal, gun field, and buy receipt for a firearm that was not discovered within the house then however later turned out to have been the one used within the murder, Hatcher mentioned.
After uncovering that info, police obtained one other search warrant for Blake’s house, which was served in June 2023.
That search uncovered what turned out to be the alleged homicide weapon, hidden in a jacket pocket in his closet, together with extra unlawful firearms. Hatcher mentioned. Ballistic examinations confirmed the weapon’s involvement within the capturing, and a one-to-one comparability of Blake’s DNA additional linked him to the crime scene, police mentioned.
He was formally charged in June 2023.
Police mentioned in a launch that “the mixed efforts of quite a few devoted detectives, patrol officers, district lawyer investigators, and help from our neighborhood companions resulted within the closing fees and (Wednesday’s) sentence. We’re happy with the teamwork and tenacity that led to the decision of this case. The Pittsburg Police Division wish to lengthen our deepest due to everybody concerned on this investigation, particularly those that helped carry justice to the Abercrombie household in any case these years.”
Anybody with details about the second suspect is requested to name police at 925-252-4980.
