Suspect In Osana Futi Killing Delays Plea Hearing

Dressed in a yellow jumpsuit, 18-year-old Abraham Ibrahim Hade, who is suspected of killing a Newark student, stayed silent as his plea entry was delayed.

Hade, a Fremont resident, is facing one count of murder with deadly weapon and gang enhancements in connection to the stabbing death of Osana Futi, an 18-year-old Newark Memorial High School senior.

As Futi’s surrogate mother, along with about a dozen relatives and friends, sat in the courtroom, defense attorney Thomas Knutsen requested that Hade’s plea entry be pushed back to May 10, a request Superior Court Judge Dennis J. McLaughlin granted.

Knutsen is a private attorney out of Fremont. Representing the Alameda County District Attorney’s office was Deputy District Attorney Elgin Lowe.

Lowe did not have any comments on the case Wednesday morning but did note that his specialty within the district attorney’s office is gangs.

On Tuesday, Hade was charged with one count of murder with a clause added that accuses him of committing a crime in association with a street gang.

Alameda County District Attorney spokeswoman Teresa Drenick, who said she couldn’t speak about the case directly, said Tuesday that generally the sentence for a murder charge is anywhere from 25 years to life in prison. She added that a gang enhancement clause could increase the sentence.

Hade was , who police say are facing charges related to being accessories to homicide.

All four suspects were arrested in connection to Futi’s killing. Futi was found around 11:20 p.m. Saturday. He was transported to a local trauma center where he was pronounced dead approximately two hours later.

Hade is being held at Santa Rita Jail on no bail and is scheduled to appear in court again on May 10 at 9 a.m. in Department 605.