Suspects charged in killing of security guard, retired police officer Kevin Nishita during smash-and-grab robbery

Shadihia Mitchell, Hershel Kiante Hale, and Laron Gilbert were charged with murder, attempted robbery, and assault on Thursday by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

Oakland police chief LeRonne L. Armstrong said during the press brief that although charged, Laron Gilbert still remains at-large. He was released after being arrested on an unrelated parole violation and couldn't be held for Nishita's death as there was not enough information to charge Gilbert with the crime at the time, authorities explained.

All three suspects have rap sheets that collectively include shootings, assault of a peace officer or firefighter, illegal firearms possession, and burglary of a vehicle, FOX 2 reports.

Mitchell is the alleged gunman who opened fire on Nishita while he was working to protect a KRON4 news team from a robber that was trying to steal their cameras during the deadly smash-and-grabs, according to prosecutors.

Kevin Nishita, a father of two and grandfather of three, was shot in the abdomen and was transported to a nearby hospital where he died three days later.

Nishita's death came amid a surge in organized smash-and-grab flash mobs in the Bay Area, Chicago, Minneapolis, and elsewhere across the country, which have been emboldened by the "defund the police" movement, whose calls for police abolition has led to a change in policing policies in dealing with retail theft.

Advocates of the "defund the police" movement claim that arresting and charging criminals for retail theft is a form of "systemic racism" that disproportionately affects blacks.