Contra Costa DA secures convictions in three murder cases including one in Antioch
Lonnie Ray Decker and Steven Robert Kelly convicted of the January 2024 murder of Roberto Gonzalez-Lamas and the attempted murder of Richard O’Mary
By Ted Asregadoo, PIO, Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office
Martinez, CA – Separate juries in Contra Costa County returned guilty verdicts in three murder trials this week.
On February 18th, a jury convicted Lonnie Ray Decker and Steven Robert Kelly of the murder of Roberto Gonzalez-Lamas and the attempted murder of Richard O’Mary. The shooting occurred on January 23, 2024, in Antioch.
Police responded to multiple gunshots on Bryan Avenue, where both victims were shot several times. Gonzalez-Lamas later died at a hospital, while O’Mary sustained severe injuries but survived. (See related article)
Both defendants will remain in custody without bail. They will be sentenced by Judge Christopher Bowen in Martinez on June 6th, 2025.
In The People v. Phuc Hong Vo, jurors convicted Vo of the first-degree murder of his 75-year-old mother-in-law, Que Thi Tran, and the second-degree murder of his wife, 40-year-old Tho Ngoc Ly. The verdict was reached on February 18th.
The victims were murdered by Vo on or about September 5th, 2023, in Contra Costa County.
While the body of Ms. Tran was recovered in the Oakland estuary on September 30th, police have been unable to locate Ms. Ly. Initially, Vo reported to San Pablo Police that his wife and mother-in-law had willingly left their home after he and Ly argued over family finances.
San Pablo Police became suspicious of Vo after receiving information that the disappearance was likely a double homicide. Moreover, actions by Vo like remodeling his home, hiding his wife’s car, lying to the police, and leaving the United States for Vietnam to meet a woman he had been seeing and wanted to marry, added to the circumstantial evidence that Vo was the only suspect in this case.
Vo will be sentenced at a future date by Judge Charles Burch in Martinez. He faces a sentence of life imprisonment without parole for the double murders.
On February 19th, in The People v. Lawyer Dushan McBride, a jury found McBride guilty of murdering Rashanda Franklin in 2017.
McBride, then 43, was waiting for Franklin, 30, in the church’s parking lot where she took her children to school. He had been following her and harassing her for weeks after she ended their 2-year relationship. Concerned for her safety, she called 911 as she fled the parking lot with her children. As both vehicles approached 29th Street and Rheem Avenue, McBride blocked Franklin’s car, exited his vehicle, and confronted her. The 911 recording captured Franklin pleading, “I’ve got my kids in the car.” McBride responded, “I ain’t playing with you,” before fatally shooting her.
In addition to the murder conviction, the jury found McBride guilty of shooting into an occupied vehicle, stalking, personally using a firearm to cause death, and inflicting great bodily injury in circumstances involving domestic violence.
Judge Mary Ann O’Malley will sentence McBride in Martinez at a date and time determined by the court.
Two of these homicide trials involved family violence. For anyone experiencing domestic violence or elder abuse, help is available at Contra Costa’s Family Justice Centers www.cocofamilyjustice.org or 24-7 through the crisis line at STAND! for Families free from Violence 1-888-215-5555.
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