MARTINEZ — The latest twist in a Concord murder investigation: No one involved is being charged with murder, according to prosecutors who revealed in court records how defendants allegedly worked together in a robbery plot that went horribly wrong.
On Tuesday, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office filed conspiracy and gun possession charges related to the death of 36-year-old Daniel “Danny Boy” Schrader, who was shot and killed outside a Motel 6 in Concord last month. Charged were Victoria Chew, Schrader’s 30-year-old wife, along with Adam Renfroe, 32, and Robert Brown, 38, who remains at large. Brown has been identified as the shooter.
Prosecutors declined to file murder charges, and authorities say the shooting may have been in self-defense. But the case remains under investigation.
In the hours after the July 12 homicide, authorities believed that Renfroe, Chew and Brown had worked together to set up Schrader, and that Schrader believed Chew was having an affair with Brown, authorities said.
But it is now believed that Chew and Schrader were conspiring together to rob Brown, and that Schrader brought Renfroe into the plot. It started that evening when Chew allegedly sent Brown text messages saying she was alone at the motel and needed help operating the jets of a Jacuzzi hot tub in her room. That was enough to get Brown to show up, according to court records.
Meanwhile, Schrader and Renfroe moved their car out of sight, so that Brown wouldn’t suspect anything. But when the time came to pull off the robbery, things started going awry. Schrader tried the motel room door but it wouldn’t open. He waited several minutes, then texted his wife, “unlock,” according to court records.
Chew eventually unlocked the door. But when it opened, Brown was waiting, ready with his pistol. He opened fire, striking Schrader as he and Renfroe stood outside, according to court records.
Renfroe stood there, pistol in hand, but didn’t intervene, according to authorities.
From there, Renfroe and Brown ran from the property, getting into different cars. They had a brief conversation before doing so, police said.
Chew stayed at the motel and was there when police arrived. Schrader succumbed to his injuries. Authorities later searched Chew’s phone and found further evidence of the plot, according to court records.
Chew and Renfroe each face separate single counts of conspiracy. Charging records allege Chew worked together with Schrader to comment robbery and that Renfroe worked with Schrader to commit assault with a deadly weapon. Renfroe also faces a count of gun possession.
Brown, originally billed as a murder suspect, was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. His whereabouts are still unknown.
Renfroe fled the state following the shooting, but was picked up in South Dakota days later and taken to Contra Costa County jail. A person close to him and Schrader, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said in an email to a reporter that the two were “best friends” and that Renfroe was deeply upset about Schrader’s death.
Schrader and Renfroe are also both tied to the same Contra Costa County-based street gang, though no gang charges have been filed in the case.
Renfroe has more than a dozen prior convictions, including several counts of felony burglary, dating back to 2007, court records show. Chew and Brown have both been convicted of assault with a firearm.
