Hayward man ordered to pay $15,000 for killing two people
OAKLAND — A Hayward man was ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution for killing two brothers during a heated confrontation, thus ending a case that sparked controversy over its nine-year prison sentence plea deal.
Sam Veimau, 29, was ordered last year to pay $15,000 in victim restitution to the families of Suiti and Manase Mesui, who Veimau shot and killed in September 2021. Originally charged with murder, Veimau pleaded no contest to two manslaughter charges and was sentenced to nine years, court records show.
Veimau is currently at a low-security prison in Avenal, and will be eligible for release in 2027, according to prison records.
The shooting occurred on the 3700 block of High Street in Oakland after a scheduled fist fight between two pairs of people. Veimau killed both victims with a pistol, according to police, but the defense argued there was evidence that Manase Mesui had racked a shotgun and threatened one of Veimau’s family members before the shooting.
The judge at the preliminary hearing acknowledged the case may have run into difficulties at trial, but said for the purposes of the pretrial hearing — where the legal standard is simply probable cause — there was no evidence the shooting “was in any way justified.”
“The men displayed firearms. Then — and nobody shot each other. They had a fistfight. Then firearms are picked up again,” said Alameda County Judge James Cramer, who has since died. “And under those circumstances, with (Manase) walking towards Sam, I don’t see any necessity to fire off six or seven or eight shots, reasonable or otherwise.”
The victims’ families spoke out against the plea deal, blaming former District Attorney Pamela Price, who was recalled last November. It’s unclear whether Price reviewed the deal before it went through; the prosecutor at the change-of-plea hearing said that the deal was “thoroughly” reviewed and approved by her direct supervisor, but mentioned no one else.
After Veimau was arrested, Hayward police erected a large sign at Veimau’s former home, stating he no longer lived there, due to repeated violent incidents by people apparently looking for Veimau, his attorney said in a public statement.