Californian Banker Miles Armstead Killed by his Deranged Neighbor

What could be more tragic to a family losing the head of the family, amid the coronavirus pandemic, with a fourth child on the way?

On Thursday, murder charges were filed against Jamal Thomas, 43, by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, for the murder of Miles Armstead, 44. The deceased, before he died was a wealth management banker at the Fremont Bank. He was shot multiple times in front of his former home in Oakland, in the afternoon of May 1, 2020.

According to news reports, Thomas who was a former neighbor had been a big threat to Armstead’s family, for that reason they had moved out of the home. After moving out of the house, Armstead still visited his former home a few times because he was remodeling it to sell.

Before the Armstead’s left their former Oakland home, they had been countlessly threatened by Thomas. On March 28, it was alleged that Thomas threw a large rock through the house window, aiming for Armstead’s wife. According to her, Thomas meant to hurt her and her unborn child. This happened after she had made eye contact with Thomas, who was standing outside.

On April 6, Thomas was said to have allegedly thrown a brick through their window, aiming at Armstead’s head. Instead, the window and Armstead’s laptop were the only things damaged from the attack.

Prior to that, sometime in February, Thomas was arrested for allegedly trying to burn the Armstead’s home. According to a police probable statement, Armstead had reported that Thomas was a “chronic nuisance in the neighborhood,” adding that the threats were “credible due to his past behavior.”

Thomas was arrested but released on February 28 after he pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the allegations against him. This was against the District Attorney’s Office wish as they objected to the court’s ruling that granted him freedom on his own “recognizance.”

Killing Armstead was Thomas’s final blow to the family. He was arrested on April 1 at an Oakland hotel, about 8 hours after killing his former neighbor, Armstead. His arrest came without bail and he was scheduled to be arraigned May 8.

Thomas had previously been charged as a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm, carrying a concealed firearm, and vandalism. He had also been convicted twice in Alameda County, in 1995 and 2012.

A GoFundMe has been set up by Fremont bank where Armstead worked to raise $50,000 as support for his family. The bank has since been able to raise over $42,000 for the family.