John Beam’s Alleged Killer May Be Unfit to Stand Trial, Mental Health Professionals Say

Three mental health professionals said the man charged with the murder of Laney College’s late Athletic Director John Beam may be mentally unfit to stand trial, according to a hearing on Friday.

At the Alameda Superior Courthouse in Oakland, an attorney representing Cedric Irving Jr., 27, confirmed Friday that three different psychiatric clinicians have evaluated the defendant’s mental health. That includes one hired by his public defender, Sydney Levine, and two hired by the court.

All three independently found Irving to be incompetent to participate in his own defense.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jason Chin did not make a decision based on Irving’s competency this morning, but instead allowed legal counsel from both sides a period of two weeks to confer on the details of a fourth mental health assessment.

Irving, a former Laney student, faces felony murder and gun charges after allegedly shooting college faculty member John Beam on the college’s campus on Nov. 13, 2025.

Beam mentored scores of junior football players at Oakland’s Laney College and Skyline High School, many from underprivileged backgrounds, during his 44-year-long coaching career. The fifth season of the Netflix series Last Chance U focused on Beam and his students on the Laney Eagles football team during their 2019 season of play.

While Beam retired from coaching football in 2024, he continued to serve as the director of the Laney College’s athletic programs until his death at age 66.

The shooting took place at the Laney College Fieldhouse, just south of Lake Merritt. Initial reports of the shooter described a man in a black hoodie who entered the building alone and fled the scene without being stopped. Beam was transported to Oakland’s Highland Hospital, where he died.

The Peralta Community College District’s board of trustees has since approved “emergency” upgrades to secure and modernize the Fieldhouse building, as well as a plan to rename it after Beam.

Irving has been in custody without bail at Santa Rita Jail since he was detained on Nov. 14, less than a day after Beam was shot.

Police records state that Irving initially confessed to killing Beam with a .22 caliber handgun that officers found in his possession during the arrest. Irving reportedly passed a background check when he purchased the gun legally, a month prior to the shooting, according to KTVU. He had no prior criminal record before his arrest.

Irving has not yet entered a plea of any kind, including not guilty by reason of insanity. If Irving is found mentally unfit to participate in a trial, he will be transferred to a state hospital for treatment. Court proceedings will pause until his mental competency is restored.

Danielle London, an assistant district attorney for Alameda County, told Chin during the hearing that she had requested a fourth mental health examination for Irving, to be conducted by a clinician selected through the DA’s office.

Mental competency assessments conducted by a court may take up to six weeks to complete. London did not give a reason for another examination during the hearing. The district attorney declined KQED’s request for clarification, writing in an email that the office would not comment on “an ongoing, charged case.”

County prosecutors and Irving’s defense will meet to decide on the terms of the fourth examination before his next hearing, which is scheduled for March 13.