He cursed out judge, prosecutor, and allegedly threw a punch at his lawyer in court. Now this Antioch murder suspect has a new attorney

First trial ended with courtroom chaos

MARTINEZ — Ramello Randle’s prosecution has been anything but smooth.

Last year, the 28-year-old Oakland man attempted to represent himself in court, but the trial was terminated after he told the judge, “I’m not your b—-,” wished the prosecutor’s death, and loudly declared that police and the district attorney were “f—ing framing me” for the murder of his child’s mother.

The courtroom outburst resulted in a mistrial but cost Randle his pro per status, allowing the courts to force him to accept private legal representation.

Things have only gotten worse since then.

According to multiple sources with firsthand knowledge, during a Sept. 15 court appearance, Randle allegedly took a swing at his own lawyer, tripped, and was quickly handcuffed and carted off to jail by courtroom deputies. The attorney, Lawrence Strauss, a former DA candidate, was unharmed.

Ironically, the attempted courtroom attack occurred during a hearing in which Randle was attempting to have Strauss removed so that Randle could once again represent himself at trial. Instead, Judge John Kennedy eventually replaced Strauss with another lawyer, Matthew Fregi, who had previously represented Randle.

Fregi declined to comment when asked about the situation.

The courtroom chaos has essentially left Randle’s case where it was last November, when a mistrial was declared and Randle’s right to self-representation was revoked. This occurred while Randle’s mother, who had testified her son had an alibi at the time of the homicide, was being cross-examined by Deputy District Attorney Kevin Bell.

After failing to object to a line of questioning, Randle instructed his mother, “Don’t answer s— this (expletive) has to say then,” using a homophobic slur to refer to Bell, before accusing his co-defendant, Christopher Slaughter, of conspiring to frame him for murder.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please disregard anything you’re hearing right now,” Judge Charles “Ben” Burch said in a desperate attempt to keep the trial going.

“Strange a-. “I hope you drive home and crash and die,” Randle told the prosecutor, Bell. “They’re trying to frame me for something I didn’t even do.”

A few minutes later, the jurors were excused. The following day, Burch revoked Randle’s pro per status, declared a mistrial, and later dropped himself from the case entirely.

Randle is accused of installing a tracking device on the vehicle of 24-year-old Jonaye Lahkel Bridges, following her to an Antioch 7-Eleven, and opening fire on her and a male companion as they sat in a car outside the store. Bridges was killed, and the man was shot but survived. Prosecutors in Contra Costa County claim Randle’s internet searches, fingerprints on the gun used, texts about the tracking device, and evidence he arranged an alibi for himself all prove his guilt.

Randle’s defense is that Slaughter was the true murderer and is attempting to avoid prosecution by pointing the finger at Randle. Slaughter has already accepted a plea deal on a manslaughter charge, but he has yet to be sentenced and will most likely not be until after Randle’s trial.