A former law enforcement officer with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and the Stockton Police Department was sentenced to 50 years to life for the 2022 murder of a Dublin couple, one of whom he’d had a relationship with, according to prosecutors.
Devin Williams, who was convicted in October of killing 57-year-old Benison Tran and 42-year-old Maria Tran, will serve consecutive 25 years to life sentences for each count of murder, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Tuesday.
Williams left work Sept. 7, 2022, and went to the Trans’ home in Dublin. Using his law enforcement-issued service weapon, the former sheriff’s deputy shot the couple in the head and neck while members of the victims’ family were present at the residence, prosecutors said. The Trans had a teenage son.
Police said they heard six gunshots during a 911 call at the time of the shootings.
Based on evidence and testimony from Williams’ father, Maria Tran was involved in a romantic relationship with Williams while she was married.
The execution-style killings, as authorities described the slayings, sparked a local uproar.
“While this sentence does provide a measure of justice for the Tran family, it does little to ease the grief and lasting impact of this deadly act of domestic violence,” District Attorney Pamela Price said.
Besides his prison sentence, Williams was ordered to pay fines and restitution, including $12,818 for burial expenses for the victims.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2023 claims that the Trans had reported threatening behavior toward them by Williams a month before they were killed, but the county failed to do anything.