CEO of Oakland homeless outreach nonprofit sentenced to prison for killing ex-boyfriend

OAKLAND — A woman who founded her own homeless outreach nonprofit has been sentenced to 11 years in state prison for killing her ex-boyfriend during a heated confrontation.

Tiffany York, 40, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the death of 41-year-old Akobi Winston. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a murder charge against her. The deal was finalized in May and she was formally transferred to state prison in June, records show.

York had originally argued the fatal shooting was self-defense and that Winston — who had a decade-old battery conviction — attacked her first. Family members on Winston later told police that she had struck him with a vehicle during their tumultuous relationship, court records show.

Winston was shot and killed April 22, 2022, during an argument with York on the 330 block of MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland. Police say the gun York used to kill Winston had been stolen during a burglary in Stockton.

Video surveillance of the shooting shows Winston and York arguing near Winston’s parked car. At one point, York allegedly produced the gun and fired into the ground, when Winston started to walk away.

She then shot Winston’s car several times, and then got into the parked vehicle. When Winston pulled her out of the car, that is when she fired at him. After he fell to the ground, mortally wounded, she rifled through is pockets before fleeing the scene, authorities said.

At the time of her subsequent arrest on a murder charge, York was the CEO of of a nonprofit called Supporting People in Oakland Together, or SPIT, which provides meals and other services to homeless, according to its website. Her attorneys said in court papers she was also pursuing a masters degree at San Francisco State University.

Police later interviewed Winston’s family members, who told them about his relationship history with York. Winston’s girlfriend told police she suspected he had been secretly communicating with York but was unsure about the nature of their interactions around the time of his death.

Authorities say the conversation between York and Winston started off nonconfrontational, but grew into a heated argument several minutes later. That’s based on surveillance footage of the incident, according to police.

Winston’s mother, Leslie Carter, is the founder of a West Oakland-based dance studio called the African Queens Dance Company, according to an unsigned memorial Facebook post by the studio.

“Akobi spent his entire life on the dance floor with the Queens! Drumming, carrying costumes, being a stage manager, to eventually raising two Queens of his own who will proudly carry on his legacy,” the post says. “Whatever his mom needed, he was always right there. The stage won’t be the same, rehearsals will missing something special, and our hearts will carry a void as we dance on without Akobi.”