MARTINEZ — Three weeks after a Contra Costa County judge threw out a murder charge against a man who allegedly stabbed a fellow BART rider in the leg, prosecutors decided they are not going to press the issue.
Abdul Bey, 21, was facing murder charges after his victim, 51-year-old Gerald Bisbee, died from a flesh-eating infection from a tiny cut on his leg. At Bey’s preliminary hearing last month, Judge Theresa Canepa declined to order Bey to stand trial for murder, holding him to an involuntary manslaughter charge instead.
Prosecutors indicated they would re-file a murder charge at the time, but at Bey’s arraignment hearing Tuesday, the deputy district attorney decided to proceed with the involuntary manslaughter count instead.
“We re-evaluated all the evidence in light of the judge’s ruling and decided to proceed without the murder charge,” prosecutor Kabu Adodoadji said in a written statement.
Bey pleaded not guilty at the arraignment.
Bisbee’s July 2018 death was the result of an odd chain of events, and was one of three homicides within a five-day span on the BART system, including the stabbing of 18-year-old Nia Wilson. Bey allegedly stabbed Bisbee with a knife during a fight at the Pleasant Hill BART station, slightly cutting him behind the knee.
Surveillance footage from the BART train shows Bey and Bisbee fighting in the train car. Police testified in January that during the investigation, Bey said the fight began when Bisbee spit in his face and grabbed his bag as he tried to leave the train. Bey was homeless and sometimes slept on BART.
Bisbee suffered a bloody lip and small cut on the back of his leg from the attack. He later went to a hospital and was discharged, but was found dead in his bed July 20 — two days after the fight — because of a flesh-eating infection called necrotizing fasciitis, experts testified.
A defense expert testified during the preliminary hearing that the virus was already on Bisbee’s skin when he was stabbed, and that most people who suffer similar infections survive. Bey expressed shock when police informed him Bisbee had died, and members of Bisbee’s family wrote a letter to the court saying they don’t believe Bey intended to kill.
Canepa ruled during the preliminary hearing that prosecutors failed to prove Bey had showed malice toward his victim, which is required to prove murder.
Bey’s attorney, Rebecca Brackman, said the prosecution’s decision “reflects the judge’s finding after hearing the evidence and the applicable law.”
“We look forward to working towards an outcome that acknowledges the victim’s family’s wishes and a more accurate accounting of our client’s responsibility in this very unfortunate case,” she added.