Trial Ends in 2021 Murder on San Miguel

The trial of two brothers from Vallejo charged in the shooting death of a man in Castro Valley last year wrapped up last week.

A jury convicted Louis Arbee, 26, and acquitted Danquay Johnson, 24 in the murder of Tyon Bratcher on the 19800 block of San Miguel Avenue on March 16, 2021. Bratcher was parked and sitting in the backseat of a car with Arbee’s girlfriend around 5:15 p.m. when prosecutors say the brothers pulled up alongside.  Bratcher was shot dead. The girlfriend's finger was partially shot off. 

Jurors heard that Bratcher shot first and that Arbee fired a semi-automatic weapon in response. The defense positioned its case around a crime of passion, that Arbee was returning belongings to the woman, and whether systemic violence and trauma pressured the men to carry guns in self-defense in the first place.

Police records show that following the shooting, Arbee and Johnson fled the scene and led police on a long chase that ended in Oakland’s Rockridge District where the brothers left their vehicle behind. The men were arrested in October 2021 at a house in Vallejo following a lengthy police investigation. 

The jury acquitted Johnson of murder, manslaughter, and shooting at an occupied vehicle. They determined that Johnson was in the vehicle with his brother during the shooting but was not involved in the gun violence. However, Johnson was convicted of being accessory after the fact and evading police.

Arbee was convicted of murder and potentially faces a life sentence.