Merced man’s murder charge dropped in 2007 cold case, after witness deemed not credible

A 33-year-old man accused of murder had his charges dismissed Friday, after a Merced County judge found a primary witness in the case cannot be trusted.

Marcus Balh Osby was arrested Oct. 3 by Merced police in the 2007 Loughborough area slaying of Duane Benjamin Caradine. The death had been considered a cold case until Osby arrest roughly five months ago.

During Osby’s preliminary hearing, Merced County Superior Court Judge Carol Ash ruled statements from a key witness who pointed the finger at Osby weren’t credible or reliable.

Although the judge’s finding is obviously a victory for Osby and his attorney Chris Loethen, he’s not out of the legal trouble just yet.

The judge did order Osby to stand trial on a weapons possession charge he had received after officers arrested him as a suspect in Caradine’s death, and searched his home.

Still, even if Osby is convicted on the weapons charge, the maximum he would face in prison is six years — far less than the 25-years-old life he would have faced with a murder conviction.

“I’m so glad Marcus ... doesn’t have this hanging over his head anymore,” said Loethen, who characterized Osby as a “good guy” who was wrongly accused and was trying to put his life back together.

The Merced County District Attorney’s Office declined comment Friday afternoon.

Merced Police Sgt. Rey Alvarez said detectives were confident in their investigation of the 11-year-old case. “We knew it was going to be a challenging case,” Alvarez said, noting one of the issues with cold cases is getting a hold of witnesses and the reliability of re-interviewing them.

In the Caradine case, Merced police had responded to a report of shots shortly after 3 a.m., Aug. 12, 2007, in the courtyard of an apartment building at 3276 Denver Ave., according to investigation reports.

The officers found him on the ground with two gunshot wounds to the head and the hip. He later died at a hospital.

About three months after the fatal shooting, investigators interviewed a jail inmate, Jesse Howard, who told them Osby bragged to him about killing Caradine while Osby was in jail on a weapons charge.

Howard also told detectives he was in the area at the time of the shooting, and that he heard just one gunshot. However, Howard’s account conflicted with what several witnesses testified: that it was two to four gunshots.

Ash said she noted this difference. She also noted Howard, 64, said he was close with Osby’s father and family when, in truth, he had a possible grudge against the family.

Howard, Ash said, also changed his story multiple times while talking with investigators. In her decision, Ash factored Howard’s refusal to answer questions at several court hearings, including Friday when he pleaded his Fifth Amendment rights.

Thus, Ash ruled there was insufficient evidence to try Osby for murder.

Alvarez said detectives were still working on the case and continuing to work on leads.

“I’m confident that Osby is the individual we’re looking for,” he said.

Since 2007, Osby has married and has been apprenticing to become an electrician, Loethen said.

Loethen told the Sun-Star there were other possible suspects in the case, including two individuals who witnesses told authorities got into an argument and fight with Caradine and the victim’s mother the day before he was shot dead.

It’s Loethen’s second case in two months in which a judge dropped murder charges against his client.

On Jan. 7, Ash ruled there wasn’t enough evidence to prove Tyrone Johnston, of Merced, premeditated the shooting death of Arthur Hudson Jr. on July 2, 2018. Loethen contended the shooting was self defense.

Friday’s ruling also is the second Merced County cold case in four months in which the defendant’s murder charge was dropped.

Prosecutors dropped charges against San Jose resident Jerome Slayton in November after failing to locate and bring in a key witness to testify against Slayton.

Police believed Slayton killed Merced resident Michael Riley on Oct. 7, 2008. Slayton had pleaded not guilty before the charges were dropped.