While San Francisco has experienced a homicide surge of 14 murders in 17 days, Oakland is going at its more usual consistent rate of 4 homicides for the first of half of January 2007.
Homicide #1: A 24-year-old man found shot on Jan. 3rd on an East Oakland street became Oakland’s first homicide victim of 2007. He was identified as Verdair Laroy Mosley, also known as Curtis Twiggs. A tow truck driver spotted Mosley lying on the pavement in the 900 block of 89th Avenue at about 11:30 p.m. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene at 11:35 p.m.
Homicide Sgt. Rick Andreotti said police believe Mosley was killed elsewhere and left on 89th Avenue.
Homicide #2: A North Oakland man was shot to death outside his home Sunday night, moments after parking his van in the driveway, police said.
Killed was Ernest C. Johnson, 41, who lived in the 6100 block of Baker Street.
He was shot about 8:45 p.m. Sunday just after parking his van in the driveway. He had left the house a few hours earlier.
Police officers gave him CPR until paramedics arrived, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said they so far have no motive for the killing and no suspects.
Homicide #3: A guy killed in an argument over a parking space. Samuel Navarro, 33, was shot about 7:50 p.m. on Pearl Street between Harrison Street and Fairmount Avenue. Apparentely a father of two children.
Homicide #4: An unnamed homeless women was murdered near in a flood control canal behind an East Oakland recreation center was killed, police said.
A homeless man collecting cans found the body about 11:30 a.m. in the canal behind the recreation center on the 5800 block of International Boulevard.
He told a recreation center employee, who called police.
Morris said police believe she was killed where found “and was there less than a day.”
He said police have no ideas for the possible motive yet, and no arrests have been made.
Police think she lived at a nearby homeless encampment.
That belief was echoed by some bystanders who said they had seen the woman in the area before and thought she was homeless.
The woman is described as white, between 30 and 40 years old, about 5 feet 4 inches tall and 110 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
(information from Oakland Tribune)
