A Sacramento man convicted of a mass shooting that killed one and injured four others on a Greyhound bus in Oroville in 2022 was sentenced to life in prison last week.
Asaahdi Colemen, 23, was convicted by a jury in April of second degree murder and attempted murder with gun enhancements.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey told NSPR that Coleman might have received a lesser sentence, however Butte County Superior Court Judge Corie Caraway found that his previous convictions for violent crimes and gun use warranted the maximum sentence.
“She also agreed with my Chief Deputy [District Attorney], Mark Murphy, in the notation that the his mental health issue that he tried to use as an excuse actually made him more dangerous by virtue of his diagnosis,” Ramsey said.
Coleman, who is described as a gang member in a press release from Ramsey’s office, was examined and diagnosed with antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders that Murphy argued made Coleman “deeply defective and dangerous.” Further, Ramsey said, Coleman showed no feelings of guilt for his crimes.
“We were listening on his phone calls at jail and rather than expressing remorse, he was talking with friends and family about how he was going to make a rap song and a rap career upon his shooting in that bus.”
Coleman opened fire on the bus on Feb. 2, 2022.
Karin Dalton, who was traveling with her two children, was killed during the shooting.
Her 11-year-old daughter was also shot and injured. During the trial she said she has recurring nightmares of the incident.
Ramsey said the other victims to make statements were Rose Whitley — who was pregnant at the time of the shooting — and Bobby Farber.
“He was permanently paralyzed as a result of the shooting and noted that he is in constant pain and had to wake up every 30 minutes to adjust his body because of the pain,” Ramsey said.
Coleman received 74 years and 8 months to life in prison. Ramsey said under California’s Youth Offender Parole Law, he’ll be eligible for parole in 25 years.
