Man arrested in deadly Lincoln shooting is released from jail, police say. Here’s why
A man who was arrested Tuesday after an altercation resulted in the death of his neighbor in Lincoln was released from jail Friday, authorities said.
According to police, 50-year-old Emmanuel Mbaya Lasu was initially arrested on suspicion of homicide following a deadly dispute with his neighbor, 34-year-old Jonathan Michael Williams.
Williams was found dead in Lasu’s home in the Lincoln Crossing area after officers arrived shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday, police said.
The Lincoln Police Department in previous statements this week referred to the incident only as an altercation but in a Friday evening news release specified that it was a shooting.
Police in the Friday news release said that Lasu was being released because no charges have been filed yet, and that in such an instance the suspect must be released under California law.
“The law presumes that a homeowner who uses deadly force inside their own residence acted in reasonable fear of death or great bodily injury to himself when the force was used against an unlawful intruder,” the news release stated, adding, “The law also requires that when an arrest is made, charges must be filed within 48 hours or the arrestee must be released. In this unique case, further investigation is necessary to make the charging decision.”
Police added that they have determined that the shooting happened inside Lasu’s home, but “further investigation is warranted to establish the details and circumstances of the decedent’s presence inside the home, why the shooting occurred, and whether the decedent was lawfully inside the home when it happened.”
Police say they are working closely with the Placer County’s District Attorney’s Office to determine whether charges are warranted or if the shooting was an act of lawful self-defense.
Lasu, according to Transparent California, worked as an accountant for the state of California in 2023.
